They were not mollified by members' promises to change the police hiring system and to find a new way to hire the police chief. The jeering crowd demanded to speak with Police Chief Tom Streicher, City Manager John Shirey and police Lt. Col. All of them quickly appeared, but were unable to give direct answers to what happened that night. When committee Chairman John Cranley tried to leave during a recess that he hoped would calm the situation, some protesters pushed and shoved him. Visibly shaken, he had an escort when he returned to the chamber.
Leadership needs to deal with the diversity that exists in the city.
The crowd pushed into areas normally reserved for the council members, crowding behind the dais where the mayor normally sits. They stood on desks, they pushed chairs out of the way and yelled from the balcony. They pushed so close to the police chief that three plainclothes officers created a human barrier around their boss. Protesters raise their arms in solidarity at the scene of the fatal shooting of Timothy Thomas. Mr. Thomas was not armed.