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Richmond International Airport officer charged after he's seen armed on roof by Lee statue

APTOPIX America Protests Confederate Monuments
Posted at 6:47 PM, Jun 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-24 22:27:57-04

RICHMOND, Va, (AP) — An airport police officer has been charged with trespassing after authorities say witnesses spotted him on a roof with a handgun overlooking the Robert E. Lee memorial in downtown Richmond.

Police say they received a call Saturday at about 6:30 a.m. to investigate a report of an armed individual on the roof of unoccupied building overlooking the memorial on the city’s famed Monument Avenue.

Thirty-eight-year-old Riley O’Shaughnessey, an officer with the Richmond International Airport police, was charged with trespassing.

Related: Judge indefinitely extends injunction preventing removal of Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond

The Lee statue has been a rallying point for protesters and the scene of sometimes violent clashes.