Chris Swanson Genesee County sheriff of Flint Township joins protesters who’d come to demonstrate police brutality and demand justice for George Floyd.
A Flint, Michigan police sheriff has become an unlikely hero after laying down his protective gear and marching side by side with demonstrators who’d come to protest the death of black man, George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Crowds of protesters had been amassing outside the Flint Township police station since earlier in the day, demanding justice and venting anger at police brutality. Shortly afterwards, Genesee County sheriff Chris Swanson turned up at the rally, engaging in a candid talk with those demonstrating.
“We want to be with you, I took my helmet off and laid the batons down. I want to make this a parade, not a protest,” Swanson asserts, assuring his officers won’t go tough on them.
“These cops love you, this cop over here hugs people,” Swanson is heard, in footage that went viral.
He then shouts repeatedly “Let’s go, let’s move,” joining the march.
A sliver of good news as the nation struggles with disillusionment
Swanson walked with jubilant protesters along the streets, which seemed free of any violence. As the march came to a close, he told the crowds that “police condemn what happened in Minneapolis, it’s not who we are.”
The news comes on the back of multiple reports of demonstrators engaged in riots and looting elsewhere across the United States, and of police employing aggressive tactics to quell the unrest.
In other parts of Michigan state, though, the situation wasn’t that peaceful. Officers resorted to the use of rubber bullets and tear gas as rioters attacked them with firecrackers and set police vehicles on fire.
