Friday, May 22, 2015

Alert Protests Planned For Indy 500 Memorial Weekend

[embed width='640' height='480']https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNrZyJchYdk[/embed]


Indianapolis public safety officials said they're stepping up precautionary measures after learning a group plans to disrupt the Indianapolis 500 Parade.

The group, called Indy10, formed in the wake of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, as an "organized front against injustices," according to its Facebook page.

A Facebook event created by the group calls for people to "stand in solidarity and show that Black Lives Matter" at the Indianapolis 500 Parade on Saturday.

The description of the event states that, "Civil Disobedience is necessary to keep our consciouses alive [sic]."

Rev. Charles Harrison of the 10 Point Coalition – a group that works to reduce violence by bridging the gap between businesses, law enforcement, churches and the community – said he doesn't know of any instances in which Indy10 protests have become violent.

"What we know about Indy 10 is, they spent a lot of time in Ferguson, you know, during the Michael Brown incident," Harrison said. "They were a part of the protesting there, and then there were a couple incidents that occurred nationally and they led protests downtown in relation to police misconduct and things like that."

Harrison said there has been some confusion between Indy10 and the 10 Point Coalition, but that the two groups aren't related.

"They would certainly disrupt the 500 parade to bring attention to their cause," Harrison said. "I would say to them, I don't think it's necessary here. We have a lot of strong groups in this city that have been working very closely with this city in addressing whatever concerns people may have, and we've made a lot of great strides."

Indianapolis Director of Public Safety Troy Riggs said his office was aware of the planned protest and was stepping up precautionary measures.

"We are hearing that there are individuals who want to protest police abuse across the nation, or what they perceive as police abuse, and that is their constitutional right," Riggs said. "We welcome that. We will certainly work with them. But they cannot disrupt any of the events we have here in Indianapolis or pose a safety hazard. That just won't be tolerated – not only by public safety but by the citizens of this great city."

As of Friday afternoon, the group's Facebook event listed 42 people planning to attend the protest.

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An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that RTV6 reached out to Indy10 for comment. This was not correct. We regret the error.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/indy10-calling-for-civil-disobedience-at-indianapolis-500-parade

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