Protesters remained camped out next door to Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, exercising their freedom of speech Friday morning.
But it is far from free if you look at the bottom line.
Councilman Bruce Tyler weighed in on an internal police memo leaked to WTVR CBS 6. The memo, he said showed police are bucking the system because they want to get back to work.
“These folks in the police department want to do their jobs and in doing so that doesn’t mean protecting the mayor every step while he puts his self interest above all else,” Tyler said.
"We are paying half a million dollars a year to have the mayor driven around like he is some king. He's a mayor. he doesn't need police protection,” Tyler added.
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The internal police memo, leaked to WTVR CBS 6, revealed extra security is in the cards for the mayor.
It stated a police officer is required to park in the front and in the rear of the mayor’s residence, around the clock.
If those positions were filled with officers straight out of the academy, at minimum, it would cost taxpayers $1500 a day.
Tyler called the cost estimate a conservative one.
“First off it's not going to be a junior police officer," he said. "I think you're looking at $3000 or $4000 a day to protect him."
