Goal for the department is keeping people safe while exercising rights
When Ellijay Chief of Police Edward D. Lacey III, heard there might be a rally for justice in his town his department began reaching out on social media.
He wanted to let the organizers know they needed permits to demonstrate in the town.
“The goal here is to maintain a balance between safety and enabling someone to exercise their first amendment rights,” Lacey said.
One of the organizers, Pedro Chavez, said once they realized permits were necessary they contacted the city for permits and began working with the police department. They wanted to work with the police to keep order and peace while they expressed their views.
Lacey said the group appeared to be a legitimate group of people who wanted to exercise their free speech.
The department began planning for contingencies and working hand-in-hand with the organizers. The rally was scheduled for June 4.
Coordination began between the Ellijay Police Department, Sheriff Stacy Nicholson and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office and Gilmer County Public Safety Director Keith Kucera.
In all, five sheriff offices, three police departments, two fire departments, emergency management and emergency medical services were involved in staging for the event.
Everyone was gathered together in the morning and at noon to stage for the event. Some officers were visible, some were off-site.
One challenge was the tremendous amount of rumor mongering which preceded the event, Lacey said.
Every new rumor meant a new item for officers to chase down.
Chavez said rumors his group of people were paying protesters, busing people into the community or planned to riot were all untrue.
“That was a concern of ours,” Lacey said. “The organizers of this event were peaceful and had a peaceful intent.”
Two possible issues were counter-protesters or groups who might want to hijack the protest for their own purposes.
Another concern for officers was people who open carried firearms at the rally, including semi-automatic rifles.
“We want everyone to exercise their rights,” Lacey said.
People have the right to open carry. Lacey said it does give officers something else to be concerned about.
“We don’t know their level of training,” he said.
Some people are very disciplined with their firearms. Some people are not.
If someone does begin shooting, officers will be looking for people with guns in their hands first. It may be difficult to determine who has good intentions and who has bad intentions.
Lacey said he is continually amazed by the level of professionalism within the ranks of law enforcement. He said there were officers on the front line who have children of color in their families.
In the end, people were allowed to express their opinion and there were no incidents.
“We dealt with it,” Lacey said “It worked out.”
Chavez said the protesters felt good about the plan for the rally.
“We definitely felt safe,” he said. “There was nothing to suggest it would become violent.”