ABOVE: James Monk speaks during a press conference at the Chester Library earlier this year.
A 22-year-old Richmond man who was Tased earlier this year for failure to comply with police officers’ orders recently had a charge refiled against him.
James Monk was initially arrested March 28 near Virginia State University and charged with obstruction of justice and having illegal window tint. The charges were dismissed in late August, but refiled Oct. 11. Monk faces a preliminary court date at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 1 and another court date at 1 p.m. Nov. 20.
When asked about why charge was refiled against Monk during a debate last week that was sponsored by the Chesterfield NAACP, Chesterfield’s chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney, John Childrey, declined to comment.
Chesterfield police Capt. Randy Horowitz has said that the use of a Taser in the incident was not in accord with department policy because no one was in danger.
The Chesterfield NAACP’s Legal Redress Committee chairman, Tavorise Marks, held a press conference at the Chester Library on May 31 to protest the treatment of Monk, who was pepper sprayed twice and Tased once after failing to comply with police officers’ orders during the incident, which lasted three minutes and 11 seconds.
According to a police department spokeswoman, four officers who were on scene at the time the Taser was deployed were retrained on the use of the Taser. Two officers on scene were disciplined as a result of the internal investigation, but the department would not release their names. However, officer D.W. Gulick Jr. and an officer Curtis were named in a Chesterfield Circut Court document as the officers who pepper sprayed Monk, and Gulick said he used a conducted electrical weapon, or Taser, on Monk the night of the incident.
Gulick signed a new warrant against Monk on Oct. 3, which was served on Monk on Oct. 10.
