Chris Magnus is serious.
Black lives matter, especially to the chief of police of Richmond.
Magnus, the top cop in the Contra Costa County city, received significant criticism for standing in a protest line holding a sign bearing the message that "#black lives matter." And he'd do it again, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Magnus, whose department has not fatally shot a member of the public since 2007, and recorded the lowest number of homicides in 33 years in 2013, neither apologized nor rationalized his appearance at the protest on Dec. 9.
Police are upset, but "this is pretty innocuous," he told reporters. "That 'black lives matter' is something I would think we should all be able to agree upon."
At the same time, he said he'd be vehemently opposed to one of his officers rallying in support of Officer Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo. police officer who fatally shot 18-year old Michael Brown in August.
Meanwhile, he says most of the reaction to the sign-holding has been positive.
