Hundreds of people were seen gathering for a “Back Dah Blue” rally in support of the Honolulu Police Department amid a rising anti-police climate across the nation.
“The assumption is that HPD is bad. Well, let me tell you people today, 80% is good, and maybe 20% is bad. Today, I come before you and say give HPD a chance and back the blue,” one attendee of the Saturday rally, Austin Maglinti, said.
The rally kicked off with caravans leaving from Kapolei, Mililani, and Kane’ohe district parks and traveling to Kapiolani Regional Park in Waikiki.
“Every time they step out, they put their lives on the line for you, me — for everybody. The people who don’t back the blue, I beg you not to call 911 for help because they’re assisting you when you cannot even assist them and back them up,” Maglinti added.
VIDEO OF POLICE OFFICER MOCKING LEBRON JAMES FOR HIS ‘YOU’RE NEXT’ TWEET GOES VIRAL
“I’m sure they appreciate all your efforts that show how much their sacrifice n service is very much needed n appreciated by all of us who Back Dah Blue, no mater our color, race, or our political affiliation. What is important here is Unity in one voice,” one member of the Back Dah Blue Hawai’i Facebook group said after the event.
The event came after former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the killing of George Floyd, as well as other recent police-involved deaths of black Americans.
NBA star LeBron James, who has become a leading celebrity voice for activism on perceived police brutality, sparked controversy after weighing in on the death of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant last week.
He posted a tweet last Wednesday of Ohio police officer Nicholas Reardon, who shot Bryant after she charged at two people with a knife, with the caption, “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.”
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A video of the incident appears to show that Reardon stopped Bryant moments before she stabbed an unidentified female, but James and others have questioned his actions.
James soon deleted the tweet amid an eruption of criticism for “inciting violence” at a time when riots have reached a powder-keg situation in cities across the nation.
