To the Spokane police: Thank you

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Spokane Police Department. These men and women were in the unfortunate position of being between the Westboro Baptist Church picketers and the community counter-demonstrations. A great part of our very successful, loud and patriotic counter-demonstration was due in part to these individuals.

As an organizer of these rallies I made sure that I made myself known to the officers at each stop along the way. Based on what Kassi Kain, Gonzaga's vice president of student affairs, had told me earlier that week I was expecting a cold reception from the police. I expected a mountain of paperwork to be filled out for protest permits and a police force who didn't want this protest organized. Instead I got a very warm and kind reception from everyone, especially the man in charge, Officer Hartman. At each and every intersection they gave the Westboro their corner and we got three. At no point in time were any of the counter-demonstrators harassed for getting too close. Everyone understood the need for the space between the opposing groups set up by Spokane Police.

I think that it is important to say this "thank you" because we usually have a jaded view of the police. More often than not, we hear not about the day-in and day-out work that these officers do for the benefit of the community, we only hear about when they may have messed up. In recent weeks we have heard about the sheriff's deputy who shot a pastor in Spokane Valley that is being investigated. On the other side of the state there is the ongoing investigation into the death of a Native American woodcarver who was shot by a police officer. While it is important to investigate when our police mess up, it is equally important to highlight when they truly do an exemplary job like they did last Thursday.

Not everyone was pleased by the police presence. At Ferris High School a justifiably upset parent confronted the police. He complained that whenever he "needed the police" they were never there to help, yet when Westboro comes to town there are a dozen officers waiting to "help" them.  While I can understand the parent's frustration, he really missed the reason why the police were present. The police were there to make sure that both groups could make their point in a peaceful and lawful manner. They were not there so much to help these unwanted messengers of hate, but rather were make sure  the community was kept safe.

Their presence on Oct. 21 was not the only thing I was appreciative of. The other piece that the police should be commended on was their communication and understanding. At no point in time did they ask some of us to leave or attempt to suppress the counter-demonstration. At no point did they indicate to me that if something were to negatively happen I was personally responsible as an organizer. Instead they communicated clear guidelines while respecting the desire of the community to confront the WBC with a message of love and tolerance. I firmly believe that a big part of our success, and it was a success, was due in part to the police's communication with us. I hope that other authority individuals will see this as an example that it is a lot better to work with people who want to organize a response rather than throw up a wall of opposition.

I hope this message reaches those men and women working the protests last Thursday. I hope you take my words to heart when I say, "Thank you." You gave an excellent example of what a community authority should do when the community demands a response. Please keep up the good work.