Man Smashes Car Window With 1-Year-Old Child Inside While Protesting In Virginia

A protester in Stafford County, Virginia, was arrested Monday (June 1) after he broke a car window with a toddler inside the vehicle.

The incident took place when over 200 people were protesting against the death of George Floyd on the Falmouth Bridge on Monday evening. Authorities said the accused, identified as 32-year-old Victor Miles II, was among the protesters blocking traffic on the bridge when he broke the rear passenger window of a car when the driver was trying to get past the crowd. He then fled the scene in a scooter.

Two adults and a 1-year-old child were inside the car when the shattered glass landed on them. One of the adults sustained cuts on the arm. The condition of the child was not known.

Police identified Miles as the man responsible for breaking the window and took him into custody a while later. He was charged with multiple crimes including vandalism, unlawful wounding, assault and battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and jailed on a secured bond. The man has since been released from prison.

Protests ensued across the United States following the death of 46-year-old Floyd, an African-American man who died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on the victim's neck for nearly nine minutes even after the man repeatedly pleading that he couldn’t breathe. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office autopsy report confirmed that Floyd’s death was homicide and stated that he died due to "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” The police officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Several demonstrators protested outside the Stafford County courthouse on Monday afternoon and shouted "I can't breathe," "black lives matter," and "George Floyd" before holding eight minutes of silence.

Stafford County Sheriff David P. Decatur on Sunday (May 31) told the protestors and the community members that he cared about them.

“It is very, very important for you all to know that your Sheriff's office cares about you, we love you. I know you don't hear that very often from law enforcement but we do care deeply about you and we are here with you. Our Constitution is very, very important and the fact that you're out here protesting and expressing your beliefs and opinions are very important and God bless you for doing it peacefully,” he said.