Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren says she wants senior citizens to stand as a buffer between Black Lives Matter protesters and Rochester Police this evening.
At a news conference with Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, Warren said she believes police response so far...stopping the protestors from approaching the Public Safety Building with pepper spray and tear gas...has escalated the situation. She says she worked with the Reverend Myra Brown of Spiritus Christi Church on an alternative. The mayor and Reverend Brown say Spritus Christi on church street will be a rallying point for seniors this evening willing to stand between protesters and police.
Asked if it’s safe to put senior citizens in such a position, Rev Brown said that was her proposal, and it’s important for the community to be able to protest safely. She says that will continue until justice is served. She says she and other elders will put their bodies on the line to make that happen.
At the same time, the mayor says demonstrators have to understand the importance of the Public Safety Building, which is also the headquarters of the city fire department. She says the city has credible intelligence that there are outside agitators among them who want to damage the building.
Police Chief Singletary says they have arrested people from Alaska to Massachusetts these past several nights.
Asked if she planned to resign, the Mayor said she still has work to do an intends to do it. And she said La'Ron Singletary is the right man to lead and make change in the RPD.