Fun conversations with a nice group of rally-goers. Typical of those that attended the rally.
On Monday’s August 10th Sierra Wave newscast, I spoke about the Pro-police Rally held at Bishop City Park over the weekend. It was not well-known that it was going to take place, and that was intentional said rally organizers said. Everything was organized and invitations sent out by text.
Sierra Wave was “invited” around 7:00 p.m. the night before, and as it turned out, we were the only local news media invited. Things got a little delayed in posting the photos from the rally, although I did share them with other news media colleagues unable to be there.
Our invite to the rally came from a local law enforcement official with whom we maintain a good relationship. The text-only invite limited the event to a select few.
We’ll let you in on a little secret, young people today generally don’t text! Their preferred communication is through Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Tic Tok and other social media platforms for mobile device users. The younger generation does not generally use Facebook…and they largely don’t text. As a result, the crowd was composed of mostly older residents, although there were a few younger rally-goers in attendance.
Ruth McIntosh with husband, Danny, and the twins, Jude and Eli, age 6. Never too young to learn about your First Amendment Rights!
There were about 100 plus pro-police supporters lining the street in front of Bishop City Park waving American flags, Blue Lives Matter flags, and Red Trump flags, poster signs supporting the police, and plenty of evidence that most of the protesters are taking the pandemic seriously by wearing face masks and face coverings.
It was a hot day! Kudos to those that came to the event.
It was also noisy. Not just from the rally-goers shouting out their support to passing cars, but from the bumper-to-bumper traffic on Main Street itself. Motorists were encouraged to “honk if you support the police” on signs and, boy, did they ever! There was lots of waving and “thumbs up.” That should not be surprising. The truth is, recent polls show that most people generally support their local police. And in Bishop, that is certainly true. This is exactly not a hotbed of social unrest.
Barbara Coons and friend, Erin McMurtie have well-known last names in the area.
Some selected “Comments” from those attending the Rally:
- “I’m here because I love my country.”
- “I’m here because I support our police.”
- “I’m here because I worry about the world my children and grandchildren are going to have to live in.”
- “I’m here because I want to thank emergency responders and police, and I am grateful for the work they do.”
- “I’m worried at the ‘lack of respect’ shown to our police. I worry that respect is not being taught at home.”
- “I’m here to support my fellow officers.”
- “I’m here to fight for my country and fight for ‘what we have.’”
- “I support America above all.”
- “We need to ‘calm down.’ We need to understand what police go through almost every day. The abuse, the terrible situations, and conditions they deal with daily. How can it not influence anyone?”
- Interestingly, but not surprisingly, many at the rally also said, “Cops can do better; they are not all bad.”
Sharon Sears, RN, was pro-actively supporting police from the curb to, well, in the middle of the street!
Sierra Wave thanks the organizers for their invitation and for keeping everyone as safe as possible during the gathering.
It was a successful outing from the standpoint that many people were able to express their support of our local police…and that no one got run over by the ridiculous amount of traffic flowing through town!
Carl Hoelshcher was with friends.
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I went to work and almost died too. Nobody had a parade for me. Just saying.
Police don’t even make the top-10 most dangerous jobs. I want parades for pilots, roofers, garbage-collectors, and delivery drivers.
Funny how there was no issues from the community when this protest took place but when the BLM protest was taking place, everyone was losing their minds. There was not only rumors made up about ANTIFA coming to town (lol does anyone really think Antifa cares about Bishop?), people were literally making comparisons to the rioting down south.
If you’re okay with a pro police protest but are against peaceful BLM protests, you are a part of the problem and this is why BLM exists.
I still think Bishop would have better law and order if we contracted with the Sheriff Dept. We’re already paying for their services thru our county taxes. We don’t need both. We are the only city in Inyo that funds both! Nothing personal involved.
Pine, I believe your comment is well-meant, but with all due respect, it reflects outdated facts regarding limited police responses being either “weapons or jail.” Those might have been the choices when my father was on patrol, many years ago, but not now, in most forward-thinking jurisdictions.
I am an attorney who has worked with adult offenders, mentally challenged individuals, dependent adults and specials needs trust beneficiaries for over four decades. I have also been an adjunct pro bono assistant to the detectives division of a major police department in California for the last five years, working the same types of cases.
Our patrol officers receive mandatory intervention training involving dealing with mentally ill individuals, and the patrol officers attend classes on how to work with Adult Protective Services and our other social services partners. We also have specialized units with more training to respond to mental health crisis situations, such as the DART (Domestic Abuse Response Team) and Homeless Outreach cars (HOPE). A Victim’s Advocate rides in the DART car, to assist the victims. Often we send a detective with a Social Worker to an incident location, to make contact with the Victim and the Suspected Abuser. Many times I have written up case notes for the Watch Commander, who then sends a patrol unit to a domestic disturbance location or for a Safety & Welfare check, in which cases the aggressive suspect is not at all met with “weapons or jail.” Rather than those two options, after evaluation and consultation with a patrol sergeant, the suspect individual is released after counseling, or he or she may be taken on welfare detention (“5150 Observatory hold) for a mental health evaluation. From there such persons receive social services and mental health referrals or treatment.
In cases of suspected elder abuse, in which the reports allege physical abuse, we partner with a social worker in each case, exchanging information on the best form of intervention. This involves a social worker, a detective, and as needed, a patrol officer.
I wanted to share with you that our department, as an example, is working hard to constantly improve the way things are done. I know, because I am there, on both day and night watch — in the squad room, at roll call, riding in patrol cars, even riding in department airships. I have been on calls and I have seen how the officers and detectives treat the suspects.
Thank you for reading.
Thomas
What you say there is true…..in our towns.
All Law Enforcement Officers here in the Owens And Mono Counties seem to be nice and fair people doing their job well….IMO.
But in other more populated areas and big cities,maybe not so much.
We’ve all seen and heard of big city officers talking “if you had to deal with this everyday like I do”..sort of talk.
In ways,maybe can’t blame them,dealing with violent crimes,robberies,murders,crimes against children,etc. for taking a hard-ass approach on things.
In my 20+ years of living in the Owens Valley I’ve only had one bad experience with an Officer,many years ago,stopping me outside Independence for what I don’t really know…maybe because of the way I look,long hair and all..first saying he smelled marijuana when I rolled down my window ( I hadn’t touched or smoked weed for years ),and then claiming I was high on meth,which also wasn’t true, once he had me to get out of the truck.
Had me do the sobriety-walk,and for whatever reason sent me on my way after making a total fool out of me.
Later,found out he had worked the San Bernardino streets and highways before being transfered to Inyo County.
And just recently found out he had long ago gotten fired from the agency he was working for.
Except for that one guy,I always say and point out,another reason we should feel fortunate living where we live is seems we have good and fair Law Enforcement personal here in the Counties of Inyo and Mono,and a couple that have become good friends.
Thank you for this well written response. However, one notable inaccuracy is that “weapons or jail” is the only course of action. Officers of the law, have and will continue to contact mental health when the situation warrants it. To suggest otherwise is false, and is a statement that further tarnishes our law enforcement officials. Second, nobody said black lives don’t matter.
Bishop,
Blue Lives Matter was coined in response to Black Lives Matter. It’s use is disingenuous deflection of the concerns of BLM. If police want to refute the claims of BLM then do so, but co-opting the name is cheap and tends to prove BLMs point. Police officers should be heard, dropping Blue Lives Matter would help reach people in the margins and deepen sincere discussion.
In other words, if you want to cut through others rhetoric, drop one’s rhetoric.
Very, very well-stated Pine.
Police officers endure hate because they are called into situations where they are not trained professionals. When you call the police to take care of someone who is having a hard time mentally, their options are: weapons, and, jail.
We need trained professionals to deal with many of the calls the police are forced to answer. Either that, or train police to deal with these calls that don’t require weapons or handcuffs.
If you see someone walking down the street with a weapon, call the police. If you see someone walking down the street singing and dancing, call a mental health professional. Unfortunately, we don’t have that choice, and the police are called, with the options of a gun or jail. Most people don’t respond well to that, especially if they are not in the right place mentally.
Police lives matter, but black lives matter too. There is no choice in being black and being subjected to generations of racism. There is a choice of becoming a police officer, and subjecting those less fortunate in our communities to the generations of racism and general inequality that keeps BIPOC peoples from succeeding.
I just came to say, if you are calling to report anyone for singing and dancing to anyone else you might be the problem that needs a mental health professional.