While police brutality protests across the country turned violent over the weekend, the event in Portsmouth was a model of civility and cooperation between law enforcement and protesters. That made Scioto County Commissioners proud.
Commissioner Cathy Coleman said, “Someone said on social media about it, ‘Portsmouth pride is citywide.’ I’d like to say Portsmouth pride is countywide.”
Commissioner Bryan Davis agreed, “Portsmouth should be very proud of what occurred here. I believe the organizers went out of their way to reach out to the police to let them know what their intentions were. I’d say that it was done very professionally. I think it was a good thing.” He pointed out that Huntington, West Virginia also had a peaceful event. “That is the way to do it. Practice your constitutional right to protest.”
Bad Apples
“I think it was handled very well,” said Commissioner Mike Crabtree. “This country has come a long way since the 40s and 50s and 60s. I remember back in the sixties when I was in the service, the Ku Klux Klan was very visible. The country’s come a long way. Most people are not prejudiced against other races. It’s never going to go away completely, you’re always going to have a few bad apples.
I don’t know that we’ll ever be in a utopia. You’re always gonna have hate and you’re gonna have greed. It’s not acceptable. Neither are drug overdoses or suicide or murder. We’re not where we need to be. It’s going to take a lot of effort from a lot of people. About the time you think stuff like this is behind us, you see something terrible happen.
Commissioner Coleman suggested that police and sheriff’s departments need to better train officers. ” This is a horrible, horrific thing that happened. It hurts my heart. Haters will make it all about bad police or bad citizens. I hope this is a wake-up call.”
This Man Was Murdered
Davis didn’t mince words about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “This man was murdered. It’s outrageous. Police brutality of that kind of that nature should never be condoned. Are there others involved there that could have stopped it? My personal opinion is that yes, there was.”
The Root Of It Is Sin
He cautioned that even though the officer involved in Floyd’s death was arrested, the case will take time. Davis also said, “We have to get past the hate. We have to trust God. The root of it is sin. We need to overcome it. We’ve always had this. It doesn’t mean we can’t try to be better people. I don’t condone rioting. I take great offense when I see WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial desecrated. There is a systemic breakdown in our society. I hate that protests have been hijacked by individuals that don’t care about George Floyd. We’ve been culturally diverse for here many years. We’ve made it work.”
When asked about the state of race relations in our area, Davis admitted that progress is needed:
“Are we failing locally? If we are, then how are we failing? It all begins with communication. We need to talk. What may be perceived by one, may be the totally opposite of what’s perceived by someone else. Where are we right now and where do we want to be as a community in the future?”
