Indiana Borough Police Chief Justin Schawl issued a message concerning the Indiana Pride event last Saturday at IRMC Park.
Chief Justin Schawl said that he is aware of a video clip circulating on social media of a hate group protesting the event preparing to leave in a U-Haul truck, and comments raised a question of why the vehicle was allowed to leave with passengers inside the closed box. Schawl said that the clip gave a perception of undue support to the group.
He said that they were “executing an operational plan during the event and our plan was focused on specific event safety objectives that were achieved.” The plan did not include stopping the U-Haul or preventing the group from leaving town.
Schawl added that the group’s presence did not make anyone feel safe, comfortable or welcome, and that the police force does not support hate in any form. He said that “We are committed to working with all partners, event organizers, and community stakeholders for ongoing successes at every event. Specific to the video clip mentioned above, how we navigate this, should it happen again, will be a topic of our operational planning discussions.”
To read the full statement, click on the link below.
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