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RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — More than 10 months after video appeared to show a Richmond deputy pepper-spraying a 15-year-old boy at a concert, Sheriff Antionette Irving has not said what, if anything, she did about it.
The incident happened in September 2025 at a Turnstile show on Brown’s Island. Witnesses say the band was inviting people on stage when the officer deployed pepper spray toward the teen’s face.
The incident sparked outrage from concertgoers, and experts raised questions about whether the use of force was necessary.
“It doesn’t appear to be appropriate or really warranted,” policing expert Jerry Rodriguez said in a previous interview.
Irving said at the time she opened an internal investigation. In the months that followed, I continued to ask for the results but was told the matter was under review.
This week, I submitted another Freedom of Information Act request for the report.
Irving’s office said it was withholding 14 pages of records, with a spokesperson citing a FOIA exemption that allows the government to keep secret information pertaining to allegations of wrongdoing by law enforcement officers and personnel.
Those exemptions are discretionary, meaning the sheriff’s office could choose to release the records. I asked why they are not opting to do so and have not received an answer.
I also asked Irving’s office to at least confirm the findings of the investigation — whether the officer violated policy, whether any actions were taken against him, and whether the sheriff implemented any changes moving forward. I have not heard back.
Richmond City Councilmember Reva Trammell, chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, said the report should have been made public long ago.
“Why she’s not released the report? It should have been released a long time ago,” she said.
Trammell said she expects more transparency from Richmond’s law enforcement leaders.
“How come you haven’t got your answer about something this important that people are still waiting for? What, since last year for an answer? It’s not right,” she said.
Trammell said she is asking Irving to attend the next Public Safety Committee meeting in September to answer questions about the incident and her decision to withhold the report.
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