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City park hours are usually used to hassle less powerful residents. Closing a park at sunset — 8:30 at the latest and before 5 at the earliest — has completely ridiculous since at least the invention of gas lighting. #rvacouncil must alter 8-280. Let people enjoy their city! https://twitter.com/aeringle/status/1287577232484061184
Which council member will be the first to repeal/alter this curfew law that's generally used to harass black men but applied to white people? @andreasrva @Stephanie4RVA @thedrmikejones https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH8CINEREES_ARTVIIIUSPUGRPAPLPL_DIV1GE_S8-280HOOPOCOTAUTI
My first ever public comment was about a park curfew law that closed it from midnight to 5 am. That's still too much, but sunset to sunrise is just creating a pretext for police to stop who they want. Sidewalks don't close. https://mobile.twitter.com/_SmithNicholas_/status/1276290893914550273
Why are bars open till 2 am but parks close at sunset? Our priorities are so messed up! https://mobile.twitter.com/_SmithNicholas_/status/1287588041041809411
Even more wild is that violation of these park curfew laws is a Class 4 misdemeanor! If you kill a person using your car in a crosswalk, if anything you'll get a $30 civil infraction. Violating park curfews in Richmond are a criminal offense! What are we even doing here?
Molly and others could have been avoided being arrested if we didn't give police pretextual laws criminalizing being in a public space. #rvacouncil needs to amend 8-280 to remove the criminal charge and open parks past sunset (or abolish it all!). https://mobile.twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1287745690802814979
Here's Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and 100s of others in a public park past sundown. Did they get criminally charged with a Class 4 misdemeanor for being in a park after sundown as per city code 8-280? Why are police disparately enforcing this law? Repeal! https://twitter.com/NatalieKalibat/status/1203087446885490689
This is an environmental as well as a racial justice issue. https://twitter.com/_SmithNicholas_/status/1287810167833276416
Fun fact: the Richmond police chief doesn't even know the law he's citing! The law says parks close at sunset. Dusk is not the same thing as sunset: it's sunset, twilight, dusk, night. Dusk it 29 minutes after sunset tonight. https://twitter.com/Jaaavis/status/1287785425759870979
Excellent thread on decades of overpolicing parks to keep (mostly) black people from enjoying public spaces. https://mobile.twitter.com/MayDayRVA/status/1287912479125843976
