Councilman Aaron Rouse wrote a Facebook post about what happened to Mackey and explained that he has tried to bring up racial justice issues but has been routinely ignored, even after George Floyd's killing this summer.

"I refuse to buy into the myth that social justice issues are issues unrelated to our city," he wrote. "This incident happened in our city. How does a law-abiding citizen, a family man, husband, father, and small business owner get handcuffed for something he didn’t do? Why did it happen to him? What is [the] standard operating procedure?"

The Virginia Beach NAACP released their own statement criticizing Neudigate for ignoring their calls and for the racial bias seen in the video.

"In the midst of a global pandemic, Virginia Beach police officers — without masks or personal protective equipment — mistakenly detained a Black man who was spending quality time with his family," the statement read.

"As a Virginia Beach officer stated 'you have the right to be upset,' and indeed we are just that: quite upset. Even more alarming, calls from the Virginia Beach NAACP to the Virginia Beach Police Chief remain unanswered as of Sunday evening. The NAACP will not rest until every Black citizen in Virginia Beach can shop, dine, and travel without being racially profiled by our city’s police officers," the group added.

Neudigate has since apologized for the officers not wearing masks during the situation and said police leaders were trying to understand what happened before handcuffing Mackey.

“I think it’s important that he hears from the chief that we’re sorry that this happened to you. We’re sorry that this happened in a public venue in front of your children at the holidays,” Neudigate told WTKR.

The officers involved have not been named and Neudigate said the officers do not have bodycams.

Jamar-Mackey

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