In brief
Officer arrested
Charlottesville police officer Jeffrey Jaeger was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery last week. The charges stem from a March 3 incident in which three officers, including Jaeger, who is white, arrested an unnamed Black defendant for being drunk in public. After showing body camera footage during the trial, the defendant was found not guilty. It’s the latest incident in a disturbing pattern for the Charlottesville police: In a separate episode in July, a CPD officer was caught on film violently arresting a homeless man on the Downtown Mall.
No more ballots in VA
Two weeks ago, allegations surfaced that the signatures rapper-entrepreneur Kanye West had collected to make the presidential ballot in Virginia had been gathered fraudulently. Last week, those allegations were confirmed, and a Virginia court booted West from the ballot. How could they be so heartless?
Save the date
After years of activist campaigns, Johnny Reb is finally coming down on September 12. The removal of the infamous Court Square statue, as well as the two cannons and stacked cannonballs, will be livestreamed on the Albemarle County Facebook page. The event will feature guest speakers. A handful of organizations with dubious motives, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans, have volunteered to rehouse the statue.
Campus crises
COVID cases continue to rise at UVA. The school reported 227 total positive cases as of September 6, as well as six new hospitalizations this weekend. Thomas Jefferson Health District has reported 198 new cases in the last week. The New York Times reports that cases have spiked in 100 college towns since students returned, especially in the Midwest and South.
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Quote of the week
“[There’s] no real policy changes [coming], in that the system did work in the way that it is supposed to and it is designed to.”
—Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney after a CPD officer was charged for the assault and battery of a Black resident.