A sheriff in Michigan took off his helmet and put down baton Saturday night to join hundreds of people who expressed their frustration during a peaceful protest in Flint Township.
Chris Swanson, Genesee County Sheriff, told the crowd amassed around him:
“We want to be with y’all for real. I took my helmet off. They laid the batons down. I want to make this a parade, not a protest.”
Protesters carried signs and chanted as they made their way in cars and by foot along Miller Road in the heart of the Flint Township business district, where they finally reached police headquarters where they briefly demonstrated.
While there, police and protesters talked and bumped fists, and Swanson said:
“We can’t forget on all our police cars across the nation it says, ‘protect and serve. That means all people, that means all people deserves the same dignity. If you can’t call out what’s wrong, try to make it right. And that’s the magic we saw tonight. Nobody’s arrested, nobody got hurt. This is how it’s supposed to be.”
The peaceful protest lasted several hours.
