The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:25 PM

Report: Law Enforcement Errors Contributed To Deadly Violence In Charlottesville In August

A string of law enforcement errors contributed to the eruption of deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a white nationalist rally there in August.

In a months long investigation, former U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy found a lack of preparation and poor coordination between city and state police forces, including the fact that they were unable to communication by radio that day.

“The planning and coordination breakdowns prior to Aug. 12 produced disastrous results,” Heaphy wrote in his report, which was unveiled Friday. “Because of their misalignment and lack of accessible protective gear, officers failed to intervene in physical altercations that took place in areas adjacent to Emancipation Park. VSP directed its officers to remain behind barricades rather than risk injury responding to conflicts between protesters and counterprotesters.”

The report also said a school resource officer posted in the area where a car plowed into counterprotesters was removed over safety concerns as the events of that day intensified, and hadn't been replaced.

Heaphy's report was published online, and he was expected to discuss it at a morning news conference. City officials asked Heaphy, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, to conduct the review after facing scathing criticism over the Aug. 12 rally.

Fox News' Lauren Blanchard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.