Last December, 32-year-old Jamarcus “Buck” Washington was found dead in the South First Street public housing complex, a victim of rising gun violence in Charlottesville’s predominantly Black neighborhoods over the past year. Pained by his friend’s murder, Pertelle Gilmore contacted his mentor Herb Dickerson, and recruited a handful of people in the city’s Black community to intervene in conflicts before they turned into deadly shootings. The group met with Washington’s family, and received permission to name themselves the B.U.C.K. Squad, an acronym for Brothers United to Cease the Killing.
But now Washington’s father, Darnell Burton, is accusing the squad of dishonoring his son, claiming it is misusing donations.
“I thought they were going to use the money donated to them to do a good thing for my son,” says Burton. “But [the money] is not being used properly.”
“They’re buying all kinds of sweatsuits, traveling, going out to eat—just personal stuff,” he says.
Burton thinks the group does not focus enough on gun violence among adult men, pointing to several events the B.U.C.K. Squad hosted for children in public housing communities over the past few months.
“Kids is not out here killing each other,” he says. “These are adults killing each other.”
Burton also accuses multiple members of not answering his calls, and refusing to give his family any financial support. He urges the squad to change its name—and says if members refuse, he will sue them.
“Stop using my son’s name and honor my son. They’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” he says. “I want this to stop as soon as possible.”
B.U.C.K Squad associate director Herb Dickerson claims the accusations are based on “no facts whatsoever.” Though the group started off as a volunteer effort, it has received enough donations from the community to pay members a bi-weekly salary.
“We don’t have access to no money, at no time ever,” says Dickerson. All donations are immediately turned into the group’s accountant, Tommy Everett, who then distributes the paychecks. Most of the money received goes toward salaries, but the group is also saving to purchase a physical headquarters.
“We live just like everyone who works and has a job,” Dickerson says. “[Burton’s] thinking that we’re making a lot of money, when I work two full-time jobs.”
In response to Burton’s gripes with the group’s custom gear, Dickerson says their shirts were made for free by member Bryan Page, who designs clothes professionally.
Dickerson says the squad invited Burton to become a member and participate in their work, but he hasn’t shown up. They also gave his family a significant amount of support after Washington’s death, when Burton told Dickerson he could not afford to pay for his son’s funeral.
“I spoke to my director [at The Haven], the funeral home director, and some people in the community that would help,” Dickerson says. “Me and Pertelle raised $14,000 to give [Washington] the burial that the family wanted…and we arranged the funeral.”
“To this day, we haven’t seen where that money even went. That hasn’t gone towards the funeral at all,” he adds. “And we never got a thank you.”
Though the squad’s every day work involves talking down groups of young men, its members hope to end the cycle of violence in Black communities by hosting events and programs for kids.
“Our main focus is the children, because if you can catch them at an early age, you can reclaim their brain to think another way, other than what they see in the streets or in their household,” says Dickerson. “And we work with all of the adults…to direct them to the right resources that can help them.”
Dickerson emphasizes that the squad does not plan on changing its name, which is now copyrighted. However, he says they would try to give Burton additional financial support if he came to them with a specific financial request, like rent assistance.
“We’re not using Buck’s name—we’re using Brothers United to Cease the Killing. This is just an [acronym] for that,” he says. “We don’t owe [Washington’s family] anything. If anything, they owe us.”