having spent the night as a guest at the richmond city jail, the experience did little to change my mind about police abolition.

not sure what was more surprising: the narcotics detective who shouted at me about george soros while i was focused on my completely numb hands or the full strip search and overnight custody AFTER being told i was being released on my own recognizance on a misdemeanor charge.

while i was being arrested, the officer wrote down my name before asking me what it was & while emptying my backpack after cuffing me, kept aggressively asking where my gun is (i do not carry or even own a gun and never have)

i was bodyslammed for reasons that still aren’t clear to me, cuffed so tightly i still can’t feel most of my left hand, left in a hot car, strip searched, & then left alone in an ice cold, brightly lit cell all night, after being told i was being released, without explanation.

they are trying to break our spirits but they’re only proving our point. nothing short of full abolition will ever be enough.