ALL LIVES MATTER
Tanger, MLK Park rallies fail to materialize
Public shows police support in Southaven as Tanger protests fizzle.
A rumored Black Lives Matter gathering outside Tanger Factory Outlets in Southaven July 17 failed to materialize, but police still met with a group that had a message for officers.
And in Memphis, a planned rally at Martin Luther King Jr. Park fizzled. An organizer who goes by the name Frank Gottie posted on Facebook, asking people to come to the park at 5 p.m. A couple dozen people were there, but it was difficult to tell how many were just park visitors and how many came for the rally.
More than a dozen Tennessee Highway Patrol officers showed up in force to emphasize that any gathering must remain peaceful and that organizers couldn’t block streets, THP Capt. Jimmie Johnson said. There seemed little chance of that, since it appeared that the THP outnumbered those in the park for the rally.
There was a short vigil for peace at the park, however, with DeVante Hill of One Memphis leading a prayer with police officers.
Earlier, at the Southaven Police Department, about a dozen people who identified themselves simply as police supporters gathered shortly after noon to hug officers and thank them for their service. The event was organized before the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police shootings, but the latest incident gave the show of support added meaning for those gathered.
“It just seemed like the one thing I could do,” said Joanna Graves of Horn Lake, who organized the loosely knit gathering through social media.
Only a handful of officers were at the station to greet them. Most were several miles down Interstate 55 at Tanger, where a heightened police presence that included Chief Steve Pirtle kept watch in case demonstrators showed up. Pirtle said no one ever contacted the department seeking a permit for a gathering, so police weren’t really expecting any activity.
Still, as a precaution, added patrols monitored the mall at I-55 and Church Road throughout the afternoon. Police set up cones in a section of the grassy right of way along Airways where protesters could gather if they showed up. But by late afternoon, the only traffic was from shoppers.
At the police station, Graves said she felt she had to do something to offset the bad news of recent days and weeks.
“I just kept seeing negative, negative, negative, and I felt like I had to do something positive,” she said.
In the station’s lobby, officers and dispatchers came out one by one to greet the group of well-wishers and accept their words of encouragement. They exchanged long hugs and whispered words of support, and officers gave out goody bags to the kids. Officers then joined the group in a prayer circle.
“It means everything,” Sgt. Wesley Fullilove said of the group’s appearance. “With everything going on, it’s good to get the support.”
Pirtle said his department hasn’t changed its policies so far in response to police shootings elsewhere, but he’s keeping a close eye on the situation.
“At this point, we’re telling officers to be cautious,” Pirtle said, “but we’re still following our standard procedures.”