In a video revealed Monday, Democratic Virginia delegate candidate Katie Sponsler amplified her recently publicized comment about police violence with pointed words to someone filming and questioning her about it: “Enjoy your soulless life.”
An audio recording that came to light last week showed the candidate for House District 66 saying of police, “There’s definitely some who are murderers.”
In the recording of a Sponsler campaign stop tweeted by the Virginia House GOP Caucus Monday morning, the candidate said to a man filming and questioning her about her statement, “Thank you so much for trying to make a dramatic issue out of a stated fact. And I hope whoever works for you pays you well. Enjoy your soulless life.”
When the questioner asked the candidate why she mentioned officers who are “murderers,” she initially explained that she was acknowledging that some law enforcement have been convicted of homicide and that she positively regards police who execute their jobs properly.
“I have served with these individuals,” she told the man querying her. “I care about them on the ground. And the best thing we can do for them is increase our community support.”
Sponsler has worked as a ranger with the National Park Service, after previously serving in the United States Air Force and Air Force Reserve. This year’s election is her second attempt to represent the 66th House District in the Richmond suburbs, having run in 2017 against 31-year incumbent Delegate Kirk Cox (R-VA-Colonial Heights) and lost by nearly 8,000 votes.
This November, Sponsler faces Republican candidate Mike Cherry, a pastor, local police chaplain, chief administrator at Life Christian Academy and Colonial Heights city councilman. Like Sponsler, he is an Air Force veteran.
“My opponent is trying to walk back her accusations because she knows her extreme views are out of line with the voters in this district who support our brave men and women in uniform,” Cherry told The Virginia Star in an email. “Broad generalizations made against the very same people we are asking to combat a decade’s high crime rate only makes our community less safe…. As a fellow USAF veteran I respect and am grateful for her service. I would just tell her and voters to listen to her words and watch her actions and decide if those are aligned with someone who ‘respects’ law enforcement.”
Cherry’s campaign says it did not send the questioner to ask Sponsler about her police-related remarks and does not know who that man was or who, if anyone, asked him to speak with the Democratic candidate.
Sponsler did not return a call for comment about her remarks in the tweeted video.
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Bradley Vasoli is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Katie Sponsler” by Katie Sponsler For Delegate.
