Kate McCarthy wrote:
Everyone I know that attended the protest in Cleveland said Cleveland Police instigated much of the rioting by randomly firing into a peaceful crowd. Lakewood Police approached this is a thoughtful way.
Things I've heard from other places around the country is that the unrest/rioting/looting was more due to forces outside the core group of protesters (ie BLM). I saw one video clip of a man dressed in black bashing in store windows, and the actual protesters claiming he was with the police. Another video shows police loading bricks in a truck. Around the country, lots of city officials claimed the bad guys came from out of town, but I'm not so sure about that. There are plenty of bad guys on the other side of their towns, and yes, even in the ranks of the police - a very small minority I'm sure/I hope. When things settle down, I trust investigations will get to the bottom of white supremacist presence in society.
In Lakewood, a well trained police force, combined with what seemed to be a last minute change of plans, and a relatively late hour contributed to the good feeling of the protest. Everybody in town that night cast Lakewood in the best possible light.
