Supporters of Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot Michael Brown, gathered Saturday at a rally in south St. Louis, with many asking the public to withhold judgment on the case until the investigation is finished.
"Everybody needs to pull together and find the truth," said Jeff Swiney, who said he has friends who are police officers and wanted to show support for Wilson and the judicial process.
"They put on their badge every morning and might not come home," he said. "I appreciate that."
People came and went during the day, with more than 100 in attendance about 1:30 p.m. As many as 20 people stood along Chippewa Street holding signs with messages such as "Justice Comes In All Colors," "I don't support a race, I support the truth" and "Innocent until proven guilty." Some motorists driving by honked in apparent solidarity throughout the late morning and early afternoon.
The event was on the parking lot and sidewalk outside Barney's Sports Pub on Chippewa near Hampton Avenue. The crowd ate hot dogs and fought a heat index that climbed above 100 degrees with bottled water and cold beer.
"There's two sides to every story," said Mark Rodebaugh, a St. Louis police officer whose family owns Barney's. He said he wanted to show support for Wilson and emphasize that law enforcement cares about the community.
"We're here to protect them and protect their lives and property," he said. "We don't want the community to give up on law enforcement."
Many in the largely white crowd wore T-shirts with a badge insignia that reads: "Officer Darren Wilson, I stand by you." The shirts were for sale at a tablenear the entrance of the bar. A woman selling the shirts, who declined to give her name, said they had sold about 500 for $20 each over the course of the day. The shirts are also for sale at teespring.com.
The money is going to Wilson and his family, the woman said. Already, online fundraising sites set up for Wilson have brought in more than $300,000. By late afternoon Saturday, one of the sites reported raising $79,000, up from just over $50,000 on Saturday morning.
Later in the afternoon, a small group of counterprotesters gathered near the Wilson rally to show support for Brown. People also came and went from that group, which numbered about a dozen at one point.
A woman who addressed rallygoers on behalf of the Support Darren Wilson Campaign said Wilson's actions were "warranted and justified."
She said media coverage of Brown's death and the ensuing protests has been biased, and that supporters of Wilson have received death threats. "Can justice ever be attained if one side's supporters live in fear of speaking out?"
She would not identify herself. "You want my name?" she said, concluding the brief statement she read to a throng of media and supporters in the parking lot. "My name is Darren Wilson. We are Darren Wilson."
Many of the people at the rally also did not want to give their names or speak to the media, saying they worried they would be targeted for their support of Wilson. Several participants said organizers were asking participants to not give their names to reporters. "They want to protect themselves," said the woman selling T-shirts.
Others were unafraid to express their opinions. "It's not about racism, it's not about white and black," said Tammy Messmer, who stood holding a sign along Chippewa. "Let the facts play out, let's see what happens. It's all we're asking."
Copyright 2014 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
