Two officers charged with assault and battery stemming from BLM protests appear in court

Grand jury initially deliberated 18 indictments involving eight officers

Booking photo provided by Richmond Police shows from left Richmond Police Officers Christopher Brown and Mark Janowski (AP)

Two Virginia police officers who were indicted on misdemeanour charges stemming from Black Lives Matter protests in Richmond have made their first appearance in court.

Richmond Police Officers Mark Janowski, 34, and Christopher Brown, 28, were charged with assault and battery stemming from their alleged actions during an incident on 31 May, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The two men were indicted on the charges on Monday and they have been placed on administrative assignment.  They were released on their own recognizance after the appearance in court.

Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin declined to discuss the specific allegations against the officers, and would not identify the detectives’ accuser or accusers.  

Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith also declined to comment while the case is pending.

One of the attorneys representing Mr Janowski, Peter Baruch said police faced “unimaginable” challenges during the protests.

“They were faced with circumstances that were unprecedented,” Mr Baruch said. “The city was literally on fire in many places.”

Mr Brown's attorney, Jason Anthony, declined to comment.

A grand jury initially deliberated 18 indictments for actions involving eight officers, but only moved forward on the charges against Mr Janowski and Mr Brown. The other six officers have returned to duty.

The protests against police brutality and racial injustice in Richmond were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis after a white officer pinned him to the ground by his neck.

Protesters have frequently raised issues over how police officers treated demonstrators both in Richmond and across the US.

In July, Ms McEachin’s office cleared Richmond police of wrongdoing after reviewing five civil complaints.  

The office had investigated whether an officer deliberately drove a vehicle through a crowd of protesters in June and whether an officer spat on a protester.

The Associated Press