Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans: “We have no intentions of interfering with people expressing their First Amendment Rights. ..."

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Evans: No riot gear if Ferguson protests hit Boston

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Nancy Lane

Boston’s top cop says his officers won’t be in riot gear and they’ll respect peaceful protesters’ rights if they hit the streets today in response to a grand-jury decision on the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo.

“We practice community policing here. We have no intentions of wearing helmets and carrying sticks,” Police Commissioner William B. Evans told the Herald. “We have no intentions of interfering with people expressing their First Amendment Rights. ... Unless people start getting hurt or get a little rowdy, you won’t see us in riot gear. Our message is that everybody does it peacefully and respectfully.”

Related: Michael Brown's dad urges peace in online video

But he said there will be a beefed-up police presence that will accommodate protesters — possibly even closing down streets to clear the way for demonstrations.

Police nationwide are bracing for today’s expected grand jury decision that is weighing whether to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Ferguson cops were criticized heavily for wearing riot gear during some protests. Evans said that’s not the right approach.

“If you come with equipment on — it looks like you’re ready for a fight,” he said.

A group called Black Lives Matter has advertised on social media plans to protest at BPD headquarters the day after the grand jury decision. Evans and other community leaders said they don’t know of other planned protests. NAACP Boston President Michael Curry said he’s waiting “anxiously” to see if protests spring up.

“There’s almost certainly to be some direct action — some visible protests if the grand jury decides not to indict,” Curry said. About 20 NAACP members will monitor Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan today for demonstrations, he said.

Rev. Jeffrey Brown of the Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury sat in on a meeting Wednesday with Evans and members of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s Cabinet. He said he doesn’t expect violence here.

“I’ve been in Ferguson and the conditions there are extremely different than Boston,” Brown said. “Not to say that Boston is perfect. But I believe we’re in a different place than what’s happening there.”


http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/11/evans_no_riot_gear_if_ferguson_protests_hit_boston