System is Racist but Anyone Can Get It. VA Cops Indicted for Battering a 77 yr Old White Man Leading to Death b/c of His Alleged Failure to Comply w/Authority After Speeding 8mph Over Limit

A sheriff’s deputy and a deputy in northwestern Virginia have been indicted on felony charges stemming from the violent arrest of a 77-year-old man who, according to his family, was afflicted with dementia and died about two weeks after suffering a head injury during the incident. All involved are white.

The charges result from a traffic stop last year in Front Royal, Va., that occurred after the motorist, Ralph C. Ennis, traveled for four miles in his pickup truck while being chased by a Warren County deputy with his vehicle’s emergency lights and siren activated. The deputy was trying to stop Ennis for driving 8 mph over the speed limit, authorities said.

Ennis — described by his family in a subsequent lawsuit as “confused and disoriented” by dementia — eventually stopped his Ford F-150 in a parking lot and got out. Deputy Tyler S. Poe then slammed Ennis against the truck, after which then-Deputy Zachary A. Fadely tackled Ennis, who fell to the ground beneath Poe and Fadely, according to authorities and video of the April 2, 2022, encounter. [MORE]