Video Shows Virginia Officer Pointing Gun at Students After Prom, Chief Says Use of Force Was Justified

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew has defended an officer after a viral video showed him drawing a gun at a Black student. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on May 24 in Virginia, after a group of high school students left the prom. It was captured on camera by 17-year-old local Myah Tate.

As the clip circulated online and faced backlash, Drew organized a press conference to present the officer’s account of the incident. The chief justified the officer’s actions by saying he was forced to wield a weapon as he thought the student was about to run him over with his car.

In the video, an officer is seen pointing a gun at a Black SUV driven by a high school student. Tate, who recorded the incident, asks the officer to lower his weapon and provide his badge number. However, another officer tells her to step back. Meanwhile, the driver rolls down the window and raises his hands as the officer continues to point the gun at him.

Supporting the officer, Drew said during the press conference, “I've talked to that officer, his captain has talked to that officer, and the officer said: ‘I felt like I was about to be hit or run over, I turned, I addressed it, I pulled my weapon and ordered that vehicle to stop.’"

Drew said the video was taken out of context. “I don’t want people to think that an officer got out of his vehicle, saw a dark colored vehicle with tinted windows and walks up and pulls a firearm out, that just — that didn’t happen,” he explained.

The chief said police had been deployed in the area after reports of teenagers dancing in and out of their cars following a high school prom. “30 or 40 vehicles, with 3, 4, 2, 5 individuals that are riding on cars, that are sitting on top of cars, sitting and falling into the sunroof of a car, dancing on top of a vehicle, hanging out of all four windows,” Drew said.

Tate, who is known for her activism in the local community, responded to Drew’s press conference by saying she was not satisfied with the police chief’s response. She maintained that she witnessed the entire incident and that the high school student was not going to hit the officer with his car.

“I love you chief and everything you do for the community and me but I’m not going out without a fight. I will not settle for a “my officer thought he was going to get hit” when it’s clear as day he was not. I’m not settling for nothing that was said on that news and I won’t stop fighting because WE WANT JUSTICE,” she wrote on Facebook.

Tate has also demanded the release of body camera footage, saying it would provide a clearer picture of the incident. On the other hand, Drew said the footage has been withheld to protect the identities of other teenagers who were out after the 11 p.m. curfew for minors.