In the wake of the murders of five Dallas Police officers, Tucson business owner, Margo Susco and community activist Adriana Chairez rallied the community on Wednesday to show local law enforcement just how much they are appreciated. Susco offered her popular store, Hydra, on the corner of 6th and Congress, as the rallying point.
Susco and Chairez had decided they had to do something last Friday in response to the Dallas murders. Those plans resulted crowded street corners filled with diverse and like-minded individuals.
The air was filled with the sounds of honking horns as many drivers passed by to show their support for local police. Some came to the small tent the group had put up where visitors were treated to small baked goods and water; a welcome relief on the hot Tucson day. Some people went out of their way to hold up signs for the few minutes that they could spare in an effort to get others to join the crowd.
Many approached Chairez and Susco thanking them for organizing the event.
“We’ve been on the radio, we’ve been out on Facebook, and we’ve put it out on Twitter. We just wanted to reach out to everybody. The truth is that there is more good than there is bad,” Chairez explained, as she stood underneath the small tent while honking continued around us. “We don’t want to tip the scale to bring that back. We want it all good. There is more good than there is bad. So let us keep it that way, but we really just need more people to stand up and join us. I know that we are doing our jobs, taking care of our children and we are being active in supporting our families. At the same time our law enforcement needs us now. So we want to have a community not just on a day like today, but every day. Thank a cop. Thank a fireman. Thank public safety when you see them. This is not just a one day thing. This is every day.”
While the sentiment was appreciated by the many law enforcement officers and security personnel that stopped by the rally, there was dissent. A single protestor arrived at around 4:00 p.m. with a sign that read “System Rigged F**k Cops.” Occasionally he would be joined by those willing to wave his spare signs, but they did not linger long.
All the while conversations were had about what both sides were hoping for and at times they found common ground.
Susco was proud of the event and the community’s support. “I think any community support is wonderful. And I am a big believer in the power of one and starting off small. Our Tucson Police Department has a good relationship with all types of different protest groups. It’s been fairly uneventful here but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to get up and show our support for the local Tucson Police Department because they absolutely deserve it. We are hopeful this radiates out.”
As she continued holding up signs as drivers waved and honked, Susco explained, “Enough is enough. People need to come together and say we support our law enforcement because now more than ever they could really use it.”
With funding provided by the Tucson Police Foundation (TPF) and the Tucson Police Officer’s Association (TPOA) multiple officers from the department were sent to Dallas, Texas to attend the funerals and show their support for the five officers killed in the line of duty. TPD posted on Facebook, “The officers killed in Dallas were obviously not members of the Tucson Police Department, but they were part of a brotherhood that is everlasting.”