Nobody deserves to be run over for standing in the street or blocking a bridge.
While some comments on social media called for such actions in response to the protests in Owensboro this weekend, Police Chief Art Ealum said that’s uncalled for.
“I think it’s very distasteful because we are talking about human beings,” he said. “Yes the bridge was blocked, but we block the bridge for farm equipment to come across at different times a day. We block the bridge for inspections, for lighting, for bridge day. At the end of the day, we have to be civil as a community. Our community is better than that. Comments talking about running people over, they should care more about human lives than that.”
What’s worse, a traffic delay or buildings being burned? Heated arguments or gunfire and death?
“The police can’t win in situations like this,” Ealum said. “On one hand you might have people to say arrest them, drag them off the bridge or whatever. That would likely provoke riots and businesses would burn, cars would burn. Some people say you might be too lenient.
“I’ll take leniency all day long if it prevents somebody from losing their life — protestor or innocent civilian, it doesn’t matter to me.”
The protests
Owensboro’s protestors — particular the first few hours Saturday and all day Sunday — have remained relatively peaceful. They’ve largely worked with OPD to be safe.
Meanwhile, major cities across the city are being burned and looted nightly. Businesses and property destroyed. Lives lost — including as close to home as Louisville.
For all those saying violence is not the way, Owensboro’s demonstrators and police alike have largely been an example of how things could be done.
On Saturday, demonstrators obtained a permit to protest in front of the courthouse. For roughly two hours, that’s what they did.
With it being on short notice and little time to make sure everyone was on the same page, organizers weren’t quite able to quell the desire to go mobile. But, they made officers aware of the situation.
“Organizers reached out to Major J.D. Winkler and said they were losing control because people were wanting to get in the streets,” Ealum said. “That’s the problem with getting a group together when you really don’t have a solid plan. (The protest) was kind of evolving as things went on, but we were able to accommodate that.”
For the next couple of hours, protestors marched through streets downtown as police helped monitor the situation.
The bridge
There were certainly a few tense moments as a couple of drivers exited their vehicles and got face-to-face with the front lines of those blocking the bridge. A few people were held back to try to keep things from escalating.
One protester alleged a car hit his upper leg, and he later told Owensboro Times there were no bone breaks, only bruises and soreness. The incident is still under investigation.
Before things escalated, officers remained at the foot of the bridge. Three reporters — two from OT and one from the Messenger-Inquirer — were on the bridge as everything unfolded.
The OT live stream of the incident was flooded with comments, including those calling for demonstrators to be arrested or run over. There were also complaints on social media about traffic being blocked, with “what ifs” about people being late for work, feeling scared, or needing to get through.
Due to a lack of officials on the bridge north of the protestors, one OT reporter talked with every driver on the bridge to explain the situation and make sure everyone was OK. Emotions ranged from scared to frustrated to just observant, and the OT reporter relayed the info back to central dispatch, which handles emergency and medical calls. Protestors also said that police were equipped with radios, and they would have moved if there was an emergency.
With the bridge as the height of potential violence, Ealum said he’s happy with everyone going home safe.
“People wanted their voices heard, and they got to demonstrate and do everything that they wanted to do at that time — and peacefully,” he said. “Some would argue that it wasn’t because they were loud and yelling at cars, but compared to what has happened in other cities across our country this past week, we’ve been blessed.”
Racism in Owensboro
Racist comments were also largely prevalent on social media during both demonstrations. (Note: Though OT tries to moderate such comments on our page, the sheer number of interactions this weekend made it impossible to catch every one.)
“I think that signifies a problem in our community, how people think,” Ealum said. “Sometimes it’s too easy to sit back just because you don’t see it, you don’t hear it, you don’t deal with it. Racism is still prevalent in this community.”
He said if people dig down deep and get past all the marching and blocking streets, the stronger message is about social injustices that have occurred.
“It’s very sad but it’s very real,” he said. “People say things are not happening like that in our community. It’s because you don’t see it and you don’t hear it, but it is happening. All you’ve got to do is read a Facebook post.”
On Saturday, Ealum talked with a group of protestors about their concerns and frustrations while they sat at the intersection of Parrish Avenue and Frederica Street. While he said some good came out of that, there were also some disappointing comments — particularly about him only becoming police chief because he is black.
“That was frustrating for me to hear people that look like me say that I’m a token in my position when I worked my way through the ranks and earned the position that I currently have,” he said. “Offensive? Absolutely. But I’m still living and breathing.”
Creating change
Sunday’s protest remained relatively calm from start to finish during an 11-mile trek from Moreland Park to KY 54 and back. They eventually coordinated with officers, and the two groups conversed throughout the day. The march concluded with demonstrators taking a group photo near Moreland Park before cleaning up any signs and trash they generated.
Traffic was delayed at times, but mainly only when the group crossed intersections and navigated some two-lane roadways. The protestors otherwise stayed in the median as officers escorted stayed both in front of and behind the group.
Ealum said those sorts of protests have a greater potential to make an impact.
“People need to be structured and organized,” Ealum said. “It can’t be chaos because it’s hard to discern what the issues are when you’ve got multiple people screaming, and all of them are screaming different things.”
Some demonstrators said they plan to be back next weekend. There is prayer event scheduled at the courthouse on Tuesday from 12-1 p.m., and local groups are holding an event Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to support the fight against racial injustice.
Ealum, who has repeatedly said he supports peaceful protests, said it’s important to continue the fight.
“The issue is don’t let this moment pass,” he said. “That’s what happens. People get caught up in what’s going on around the country and then everything dies down, and it’s like ‘well, that’s done.’ Then we wait til the next significant event. Then when riots and stuff break out people want to be vocal and start protesting.”
Ealum said while there will be pushback and negativity, he supports the movement.
“Just keep on marching on,” he said. “We know you’re out there.”
