Sheriff Richard Jones mischaracterized a protest at the Butler County Jail on June 9 in support of Emerson Colindres, a 19-year-old Dater High School graduate who had been arrested and detained by ICE. The truth is that protesters were behaving in an orderly, nonthreatening manner. It was the police who needlessly escalated the situation, creating fear and confusion among marchers before making an unnecessary arrest.
Jones said in a press release that the sheriff’s office “deployed personnel to maintain order, ensure public safety and monitor the protest. While the majority of attendees demonstrated peacefully, several individuals unlawfully entered the roadway, obstructing traffic and creating a safety hazard.” This statement was false in many ways.
The “majority of attendees” were not demonstrating peacefully; all of them were demonstrating peacefully. And it wasn’t “several individuals” who entered the roadway; it was all or nearly all of us. At 7 p.m. on a Sunday, there was very little traffic to obstruct. While it may have been technically illegal to enter the roadway, police know well that some minor violations of the law are not worth being enforced. Who has ever been ticketed for jaywalking?
The police stirred up fear instead of de-escalating
I have been to dozens of actions in Cincinnati where protesters took to the streets. Whether or not we had a permit, the Cincinnati Police Department is typically disciplined enough to know that trying to prevent that is counterproductive and escalatory. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the intent of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to de-escalate tension or to “ensure public safety” as it claimed. Instead, its goal seemed to be an adolescent display of dominance in the face of what to them was an unwelcome demonstration of democratic power.
The police easily could have spoken with the marshals of the event, clearly identified in bright yellow vests, to work out an agreement. Instead, they initially took no issue with us being on the road. It wasn’t until we had marched several blocks that, out of nowhere, cruisers started blocking off intersections, blaring sirens and announcing on the intercom that we needed to move to the sidewalk. Meanwhile, they called for backup from surrounding towns, and suddenly there were dozens of police cars blocking our path, with a clear intention of intimidating us. One sped down a street that people had not yet cleared, forcing us to quickly hop out of its way.
All of this stirred up fear, confusion and eventually resentment. Once on the sidewalk, I witnessed an angry, unstable resident yelling at me and the people around me to get off his sidewalk, threatening to let his dogs out on us if we didn’t comply. How was this ensuring “public safety?” To make matters worse, police used unnecessary force to try and arrest one of the marchers, whom a marshal tried to protect, resulting in her arrest and a subsequent felony charge.
None of this was necessary. It was dangerously irresponsible of the police, who certainly didn’t win any allies from the people in attendance. Instead, they gave credence to the idea that police in our society often create more problems than they solve.
Police actions drew attention away from the meaning of the protest
I am one of Emerson Colindres’ teachers. I, as well as everyone else who showed up at the march, were there to support him. Unfortunately, the police escalated the situation and took the attention off of him and onto their bullying behavior. It was only then that the content of the chants started to be more antagonistic toward police. I was disappointed that the Enquirer decided to report on one of those chants without the context of what led to it, as opposed to the dozens of earlier chants in support of Emerson.
All charges against Caley Baker should be dropped immediately. More importantly, Emerson should be immediately freed from detention, as he committed no crime and has been nothing but a hard-working, positive community member since entering the United States.
John Klingler is a CPS teacher and Cincinnati native currently living in Westwood.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Our protest was about Emerson Colindres. Police made it about their aggression. | Opinion
Reporting by John Klingler / Cincinnati Enquirer
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