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Local activists ask Roanoke City Council to acknowledge 2020 protest policing; request reckoning and follow‑up
Summary
Speakers at the May 19 public comment session called on council to acknowledge and reckon with police responses to 2020 George Floyd protests in Roanoke, saying pepper ball and spray deployments harmed peaceful demonstrators and asking the city to work with citizens on acknowledgment and reform.
During the public comment period on May 19, speakers asked Roanoke City Council to acknowledge police actions during protests in 2020 and to engage in follow‑up work with community leaders.
Bridal Cathcart, speaking as president of the GFWC Star Women’s Club, said the fifth anniversary of the protests is approaching and asked the city to pursue “a reckoning and acknowledgment of what happened that day.” She described being present at both daytime and evening events in 2020 and said police fired pepper balls and deployed pepper spray against largely peaceful protesters: “By the time I got there, the police had already been firing pepper balls and there's pepper spray that was there. And half a block away when I was near the city where we are now, the building, I could feel the sting of the pepper spray.”
Cathcart said she later provided evidence to the mayor and the city attorney’s office and urged the city to recognize the event in the historical record and to work with citizens to improve future responses. She also referenced later interactions affecting BJ Lark’s son and asked for an “acknowledgment with history” and reform so similar actions do not recur.
Mayor Joseph L. Cobb and several council members thanked public commenters for raising the matter. Council did not take immediate action during the meeting; staff will refer public comment matters to the city manager for response, per the council’s public comment policy.
