GREENFIELD — Amid protests against police brutality, a national debate over the role of law enforcement and calls to “defund the police,” Hancock County resident Faith Hoosier said talking to her 11-year-old son Jadon about the police can be “a double-edged sword.”
“We tell him that there are things in the world that are not right — especially what happened with George Floyd, I think was wrong. Completely wrong,” said Hoosier, referring to the death of a Black man in Minneapolis who was choked by police, sparking the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests. “But that doesn’t mean that every police officer who gets involved with something that was in the news was in the wrong.”
Hoosier, who is white; and Jadon, who is bi-racial, were among those in attendance at a “Back the Blue” rally Saturday, Aug. 1, in downtown Greenfield in support of law enforcement. Hoosier said she tells her son he should not be afraid of police officers — and that if he’s pulled over when he’s older, he should do what the officer says.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“If the officer’s in the wrong, we’ll fight it the next day,” Hoosier said. “If he does what he’s supposed to do, what I’m raising him to do, there should not be any issue.”
The event drew hundreds of RSVPs on Facebook, though a smaller crowd of 50 to 70 people were gathered in front of the Hancock County Courthouse holding signs and waving flags featuring the “Thin Blue Line” design. Passing cars frequently honked their horns in support.
“We’re just here to show that we care and we have their back,” Hoosier said.
Jean Hauck, the event’s organizer, sported dyed blue hair and handed out homemade signs at the event. Hauck, the daughter of a retired sheriff’s deputy, said she wanted to spread positivity at the event. People have the right to protest against police brutality, she said, but should not attack all police officers.
“We’re here to support them and give them good morale and let them know that we’re behind them,” Hauck said.
Many people who attended the event have family members in law enforcement or a background in the field themselves. Liz Sosbe has both.
“I was a military police officer for 12 years in the Army, so I have a background in it,” Sosbe said. “I do understand that not everything is perfect. I do understand that some departments need retraining.”
Sosbe said she has not attended any of the Black Lives Matter events held in Greenfield due to health issues, but would be happy to do so in the future. She said she has had many discussions on the topic with her niece, a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter.
“Some people will look at Black Lives Matter as being the other side,” Sosbe said. “We don’t. We look at them as family. We believe we can all be community as long as we can find wonderful communication, and that is what we want.”
While most stuck to “Back the Blue” and similar slogans, there were a few more inflammatory symbols at the rally. Caleb Stephens wore a hat featuring a Confederate flag and the slogan “Good Ole Southern Boy.” Stephens said he wore the hat to represent the South and the Republican Party, adding that Abraham Lincoln, a Republican president, ended slavery.
Stephens said he attended the rally to support law enforcement officers, like his brother, and oppose the property destruction at some protests.
“Respect the cops; support them; and don’t defund them,” Stephens said. “That’s probably the worst thing you could do.”
Many people at the event were concerned about calls to defund the police, a popular call for action at recent protests. While participants in Black Lives Matter protests have a variety of opinions, some have called for reducing police budgets or for new public safety frameworks that would not involve traditional policing.
David Lakes, who organized Black Lives Matter protests in Greenfield in June, was not at the event but said many people might have the wrong idea about what individuals or organizations involved with the movement are calling for.
“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding of what’s going on,” he said.
Lakes said calls to defund the police are not advocating for immediately closing down police departments. Instead, he said, they are calling for a range of policy changes that include police being less involved in matters like drug addiction and homelessness, and more funding for other areas like housing and public health. He encouraged people to read more about the ideas behind the slogan.
“I think it looks kind of radical; it gets your attention; and I think you should look into it and see what it actually means,” Lakes said.
At the event, Hancock County Sheriff Brad Burkhart said he is concerned by calls to defund the police and by the politicians in some cities who have endorsed the idea.
“It really worries me for those communities, those cities, and what’s going to happen to them in the future,” he said. “It really absolutely makes no sense to me how they think that’s a good idea for the people, for the citizens in those communities. There’s people in those communities that need the support of law enforcement, that need the public safety support… It’s just baffling to me, I suppose.”
Burkhart said it was heartening to see the community support for law enforcement at the rally.
“I think that during these trying times that we see throughout the country, there’s lots of agencies and lots of officers out there that are not getting treated that way,” he said.
GPD Patrol Commander Chuck McMichael said small, community-minded towns are often able to have better relationships between police and community members than larger cities.
“You go to bigger cities where half the people that live on your block you’ve never talked to, and it’s just different in a smaller community,” McMichael said. “That’s what makes (Greenfield) a little bit different from other places, just the people you’re dealing with. They know each other and care for each other and consider neighbors as family.”
GPD Chief Jeff Rasche said his department recognizes that racism is a problem and that he was happy to attend the Black Lives Matter protests in town and talk with supporters of the movement. When the police make a mistake, he said, they have to be accountable to the public.
“When we stub our toe, we have to get out in front of it, we have to be transparent to our community. And we are,” Rasche said.