Grand Rapids Police Chief Will March With Protestors on Wednesday
After a video of Flint's police chief went viral showing support for the protestors this past weekend, many wanted Grand Rapids' Police Chief to do the same.
On Monday, a group of people gathered in Downtown Grand Rapids and asked Chief Eric Payne to join them, but when he declined it left several upset. Chief Payne's reasoning for not marching on Monday was because the protest wasn't permitted. Meaning the group did not get permission from the city therefore no proper safety procedures were set in place, i.e. blocking off roads.
WOOD-TV is reporting that another protest is planned for Wednesday afternoon and Chief Payne plans on walking alongside the community and help put on the event.
The rally, Justice for Black Lives Sit In, is scheduled for 4 p.m. and people plan on lining up [in a single file line] along Fulton, starting in front of the police department. The plan is for a silent sit-in with everyone holding the same sign "I'm still here, I'm still pissed." Organizers of the protest are asking everyone to leave at 5:30 that way if any rioting or problems occur, it has nothing to do with this peaceful rally. As of Tuesday night, 1,600 people clicked "going" to the event. Get more info on the Facebook event page if you're interested on attending and want more information.
Chief Payne told MLive the reason he's marching this time around is because organizers reached out to him with an actual plan.