Markeshia Ricks Photo
The Rev. Samuel Ross-Lee had a question as he stood outside listening to retired Sgt. Marco Francia answer questions on the steps of City Hall.
“I’m trying to understand the basis of their protest,” Ross-Lee (at left in photo) said of police officers rallying at City Hall Friday in support of Officer Joshua Smereczynsky, as well as to confront Mayor Toni Harp and Police Chief Dean Esserman over their decision to put Smereczynsky on desk duty pending the outcome of the an internal investigation of is actions in arresting a 15-year-old girl on St. Patrick’s Day. (The investigation exonerated Smereczynsky.)
In the protest’s second stage, outside City Hall, there was yelling. But there was also conversation. Rev. Ross-Lee, of Immanuel Baptist Church, and retired Sgt. Francia had one of those conversations. It concerned the message officers sent by staging their rally.
Union President Louis Cavaliere Jr., in foreground.
Francia, one of the organizers of the protest, said the officers were out protesting because they wanted to support the officer and to celebrate his victory of being cleared for doing his job.
“This is about support for the officer,” he said. “That’s what this is about. Saying that this officer is racist, or anything like that, is not based on anything.”
Police completed their internal investigation of Smereczynsky Friday, but that didn’t stop protesters on both sides of the issue competing to have their voices heard.
Top cops keep order in between two groups of protesters outside City Hall.
Ross-Lee said citizens have a right to protest, to exercise their free speech — because unlike the police they don’t have the means of force to take Smereczynsky off the street. He also didn’t see anything wrong with the decision to take Smereczynsky off patrol pending the outcome of the investigation.
“He hasn’t lost his job. He hasn’t lost any money. He hasn’t lost any seniority,” Ross-Lee pointed out.
Francia said no officer was upset that the incident was investigated. But he said the decision to put the officer on desk duty was a sore point.
“On desk duty, he can’t work overtime,” Francia said. “He has a family of four.”
But officers in uniform and carrying their department issued weapons should not be out protesting, Ross-Lee responded.
“Ultimately, what they’re saying is, ‘We don’t want scrutiny. We don’t want transparency,” he said.
Francia disagreed.
“No cop likes bad cops,” he said. “I wouldn’t be out here if Josh wasn’t a good cop.”