> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Teen sues Richmond sheriff after being pepper sprayed at Turnstile concert - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/teen-sues-richmond-sheriff-after-being-pepper-sprayed-at-turnstile-concert/ - Published: 2026-09-30T20:27:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-30T20:27:38.000Z - Description: The suit seeks a judgment of at least $100,000, alleging the defendants showed “gross negligence.” - Author: Graham Moomaw - Tags: Local News, #lead A teenager who was pepper sprayed by a Richmond sheriff’s deputy during a raucous concert on Brown’s Island is suing the sheriff’s office and the music promoters who organized the event. The teen — who was 15 when he was pepper sprayed directly in the face during a performance by the hardcore band Turnstile — filed the suit in Richmond Circuit Court on Sept. 23, about a year after the concert that occurred on Sept. 24, 2025\. The Richmonder is not naming the plaintiff due to his age. Because he’s still a minor, the suit was filed through his mother. The suit claims the use of pepper spray was a “grossly disproportionate” response to the young man attempting to climb onto the stage. At previous shows, Turnstile was known to invite fans onstage when a particular song played. The pepper spray incident occurred during that song, and several other people climbed onstage without being sprayed. The suit names “Deputy M. Ames” as the sheriff’s office employee who did the spraying. “At no time did Deputy Ames instruct Plaintiff to remove himself from the area or get off the stage,” the lawsuit says. “Deputy Ames administered the OC spray into Plaintiff’s face without giving him any indication he was about to do so. Plaintiff thus did not have any opportunity to remove himself from the area or avoid having OC deployed into his face.” [WATCH: Body cam footage shows backstage fury after Turnstile pepper spray incidentOne month later, the sheriff’s office is staying mostly silent on the matter.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-255e5836-8dff-405d-abd1-1873399db89a.png)The RichmonderGraham Moomaw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/image--2--0465c184-0ce2-42a9-a4ef-f891cc5fa4f7.png)](https://www.richmonder.org/body-cam-footage-shows-backstage-fury-after-turnstile-pepper-spray-incident/) OC, or oleoresin capsicum, is an acronym for pepper spray. Sheriff’s office documents previously obtained by The Richmonder indicated Major Michael Ames was involved in the incident, but didn’t specify what his role was. The suit seeks a judgment of at least $100,000, alleging the defendants showed “gross negligence.” 0:00 /0:23 1× The litigation names Sheriff Antionette Irving as a defendant, saying Ames was acting under the authority of her office. Last year, Irving said she was opening an internal investigation into the incident. However, the sheriff never publicly released the results of that investigation. The sheriff’s office also [blocked a Freedom of Information Act request from local news station WTVR](https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/richmond-pepper-spray-incident-july-31-2026) seeking its release, indicating 14 pages of records were being kept secret. Irving didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday. The lawsuit also names Broadberry Entertainment Group and Broadberry Holdings LLC as defendants, claiming Broadberry failed to inform sheriff’s deputies that Turnstile had a tradition of welcoming fans onstage during the high-energy song “Birds.” The Turnstile concert was part of Broadberry’s Live Loud concert series. Broadberry also didn’t respond to a request for comment. [Body camera footage](https://www.richmonder.org/body-cam-footage-shows-backstage-fury-after-turnstile-pepper-spray-incident/) released after the incident showed concert organizers saying their security plan never called for law enforcement to be positioned between fans and the stage. In that footage, several people said the deputy “lied” in the immediate aftermath by claiming he had accidentally shot the spray. Organizers of large events in Richmond are required to have off-duty law enforcement present for security and crowd control purposes. With the Richmond Police Department stretched thin, sheriff’s deputies can also fulfill that function. Because their duties primarily involve securing the courthouse and the city jail, Richmond sheriff’s deputies don’t typically interact with the public as much as police officers. More than a dozen sheriff’s deputies were working security at the Turnstile concert, according to the suit, all with uniforms and weapons issued by the sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s office personnel are not under the purview of the city’s Civilian Review Board, which exists to provide outside oversight into allegations of excessive force by police. Deploying pepper spray in a crowded area filled with bystanders and other security personnel, the lawsuit says, was another sign of “recklessness.” The suit alleges Ames “had a duty to use ordinary care in carrying out his duties as a deputy of the Richmond City Sheriff's Office, providing security services at public events, and utilizing chemical agents such as OC spray.” “Deputy Ames breached those duties when he recklessly discharged OC spray at Plaintiff, a fifteen-year-old boy who was not acting in any manner that warranted the deployment of a chemical agent,” the suit says. *Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at* [*gmoomaw@richmonder.org*](mailto:gmoomaw@richmonder.org)