Last night (June 4th, 2020), a group of about 200 people assembled to protest racial injustice in front of the Public Safety Building in Cedar Falls. I’ve heard some false claims ranging from “the mayor created this protest” to “the city paid for pizza and buses” to “the protesters marched through residential neighborhoods”. So here’s what really happened, from what I personally experienced, as well as takeways from this very constructive and peaceful protest.
Before the Protest (Morning)
Thursday (yesterday) morning, Director Olson advised me that he’d received a voicemail from Jamodd Sallis, who had called CF Public Safety that he was organizing a protest at the Public Safety Building. That afternoon, I contacted Mr. Sallis for some details on his plan. I knew that his earlier Waterloo protests this week included attendance by the Black Hawk County Sheriff, the new Waterloo Police Chief, and other government officials. When I asked if it would be appropriate for me to attend the Cedar Falls event, he invited me to join in. The protest was going to occur with or without city involvement.
At Waterloo's Lincoln Park (8:00pm - 9:45pm - estimated)
I rode with Acting Police Chief Berte and four uniformed CFPD officers from the Public Safety Building to Lincoln Park at 8:00pm, and met Mr. Sallis and Waterloo ministers who had organized the event. From 8:30 to about 9:30, the activity resembled a church service rather than a protest, with prayers by the organizers and calls for a helpful and peaceful protest. After ministers spoke, Waterloo’s Chief Fitzgerald spoke to the group as did BHC Supervisor Dan Trelka. BHC Sheriff Tony Thompson was also in attendance again. It was all a very positive atmosphere at Lincoln Park, but it was clear that the protesters were passionate about racial injustice in our nation and community. After Cedar Heights Baptist Church (Cedar Falls) shared the pizzas they had purchased for the protesters, the group then drove their vehicles to the Fareway parking lot in Cedar Falls. I rode with a pastor in a nearly empty church shuttle van and had a great conversation about our experiences living in Louisiana, cajun food, and New Orleans before and after Katrina.
The March (10:00pm to 10:15pm - estimated)
The protesters arrived in the Fareway parking lot around 9:45pm, and was advised by the Public Safety Director that the protesters wanted to march, and where I recommended doing it. I suggested out to South Main, then Coneflower, and back on Bluebell, since they wanted to end up in the north driveway of the Public Safety parking area for speeches and questions. Before marching, Mr. Sallis asked me to say a few words, and then Director Olson did so as well. The half-mile march then started, and lasted about ten minutes, I joined in on it in solidarity with the marchers. I don’t know if other government officials did, too. Acting Chief Berte guided the procession with the police gator ‘cart’, and at 10pm there was no traffic out, so a very safe march. While marching, the protesters chanted “Say his name - George Floyd”, “No justice, no peace - no racist police”, and “I can’t breathe”. Nothing offensive. As can be seen from the map of the route, this march was not done “through residential neighborhoods” as some have claimed on social media.
Initial Demonstration (10:15pm to 10:30pm - estimated)
Once in the PS Building’s north parking area, the assembly consisted of probably a little over 150 protesters (guessing). After additional chanting, the assembly was asked by the organizer, Mr. Sallis, to take a knee for 8:46 seconds in silence, in memory of George Floyd. All did so, including Director Olson and Acting Chief Berte, and me, and I thought it was a powerful moment. The three of us were asked to come forward for questions from the assembled protestors.
Questions and Answers (10:30pm to 1:15am - estimated)
After we stood again, Mr. Sallis had a few more comments, and with his bullhorn, called on protesters to ask questions of Director Olson, Acting Chief Berte and me. Most of the questions were law enforcement related and so were directed to Olson and Berte. I answered a few questions related to overall city policy, and general views about combatting racism in the community. After nearly three hours of these questions, many of which were heated, Mr. Sallis drew the event to a close with final comments. The protesters dispersed, and I gave a quick interview to KWWL, which had been recording part of the protest. I departed the Public Safety Building at about 1:15 am in my own car.
Takeaways
I was very glad to make connections with a number of the protesters, including Mr. Sallis. As I stated in my remarks in the Fairway lot, I saw a lot of anger but not hate. I was very encouraged about our ability as a community to move forward on issues of racial injustice. I’ll note that most of the questions asked were specifically tied to law enforcement practices, like the use of body cameras, the disciplinary action if an officer were to make racist comments, required training for officers in combatting racism, how many officers are Black, what the city is doing to recruit more Black officers, and questions about the arrests of Black people in Cedar Falls.
I thought the Director and Acting Chief handed themselves very well, as did all the protesters in attendance. Again, while the questions were heated, everyone was treated with dignity and respect. Some great ideas and potential solutions and further engagement were proposed, and I look forward to following up on these ideas with staff and Council. I was very proud of our officers, and leadership, and the protesters themselves, for their shared attitude of problem-solving and working toward understanding.
Thanks for reading through to the end, and for taking an active interest in a very important and challenging moment in our shared history...one that’s long overdue.