QUESTION.
QUESTION. HAVEN'T HEARD BACK.
SO,
SO, WHERE
SO, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WITH JUST EIGHT DAYS
LEFT OF THE CURRENT
STAY AT HOME
ORDER...WHAT WILL
HAPPEN IF MERIDIAN SEES
MORE "PROTESTS" LIKE
THIS?
TO FIND OUT, OUR JOE
PARRIS SPOKE WITH THE
CITY'S MAYOR, ROBERT
SIMISON.
JOE?
SIMISON. JOE?
JOE?
THERE
THERE ARE
THERE ARE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
THE
THE ARREST OF SARA BRADY.
BRADY.
SOME
SOME SAY
SOME SAY POLICE WENT TOO FAR, OTHERS SAY THEY ARE JUST DOING
THEIR JOB.
MERIDIAN POLICE TELLS
ME, EVERYTHING WAS
HANDLED BY THE BOOK
ON THEIR END.
MAYOR SIMISON SAYS,.....
JOE: YESTERDAY THERE
WAS A LOT OF ACTION IN
MERIDIAN. WE DON'T
WANT TO DWELL ON IT
BUT WHAT'S YOUR
OVERALL REACTION NOW
THAT YOU'VE HAD SOME
TIME TO PROCESS WHAT
HAPPENED YESTERDAY?
MAYOR: FIRST OF ALL I
WAS GLAD THAT NO ONE
WAS HURT, AND I THINK
THAT WE CAN ALL LEARN
FROM THE SITUATION.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT
PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO
STAND UP AND DO WHAT
THEY THINK IS RIGHT,
WHETHER IT'S A BOYCOTT
A LAWFUL PROTEST, OR
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.
SOMETIMES WHEN WE DO
THINGS, EVEN IF THEY ARE
WELL INTENTIONED, IT
CAN LEAD TO
CONSEQUENCES. SO, AT
THE END OF THE DAY, I
WANT THE COMMUNITY
TO KNOW THAT WE WANT
THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO
THINGS SAFELY. BUT, I
ALSO WANT THE
COMMUNITY TO KNOW
THAT WHEN THEY CALL
ON THE MERIDIAN POLICE
DEPARTMENT TO BE THERE
TO KEEP MERIDIAN SAFE,
THE MERIDIAN POLICE
DEPARTMENT WILL SHOW
UP.
JOE: A FEW WEEKS BACK
YOU AND I CHECKED IN
ABOUT HOW THINGS
WERE GOING IN MERIDIAN
ABOUT THE STAY AT HOME
RULES HOW EVERYONE
WAS RESPECTING IT. WITH
WHAT
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY, IS THERE GOING TO BE CHANGES
TO ANYTHING COMING UP
IN MERIDIAN? OR, FROM
YOUR OFFICE'S
YOUR OFFICE'S
STANDPOINT, EVERYTHING STAYS THE SAME? MAYOR: WE'RE GOING TO
CONTINUE TO OPERATE
UNDER THE GOVERNOR'S
ORDER, AS A COMMUNITY,
BUT WE ARE WORKING TO
REOPEN THE CITY AND
OUR BUSINESS. I THINK
WE ARE ALL HEEDING HIS
ADVICE THAT SAID, BE
PREPARED AT THE END OF
THIS ORDER TO REOPEN
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE
TRYING TO BE FOCUSED
ON. IT'S NOT OUR
INTENTION TO HAVE OUR
COMMUNITY, OR OUR
FACILITY SHUT DOWN ANY
LONGER THAN
NECESSARY. BUT AT THE
END OF THE DAY, WE SAW
PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO
ARE IN NEED AND WE
NEED TO FOCUS ON
HELPING THEM. WHETHER
THAT'S THEY NEED TO GET
THEIR BUSINESS BACK UP
AND RUNNING, OR THEIR
EMPLOYEES, OR PEOPLE
THAT MAYBE ARE OUT OF
WORK AND EAT FOOD
FROM THE FOODBANK. WE
DON'T WANT TO BE
DISTRACTED ON THINGS
THAT ARE NOT OUR MAIN
FOCUS WHICH IS TRYING
TO GET OUR COMMUNITY
AND THE CITY REOPEN,
JOE: AS I'M SURE YOU'VE
SEEN AND HEARD THERE
ARE MORE, I GUESS,
EVENTS LIKE YESTERDAY
THAT ARE PLANNED IN
MERIDIAN AND ACROSS
THE TREASURE VALLEY.
FOR THE ONES IN
MERIDIAN IF THEY WANT
TO GO TO OTHER PARKS
TO HAVE THEIR, THEIR
PROTEST. I GUESS HOW
WILL YOU BE HANDLING
THAT MOVING FORWARD?
MAYOR I HOPE THAT IF
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO, AS
I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER,
PROTESTS WHETHER IT'S
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE OR
JUST, A LAWFUL
GATHERING, WE'VE
ANSWERED THEY WOULD
WORK WITH OUR POLICE
DEPARTMENT. WE DEAL
WITH THIS ALMOST EVERY
DAY WHERE WE DO HAVE
AN ACTIVE PROTEST
GOING ON IN MERIDIAN,
AND WE JUST WANT
PEOPLE TO DO THINGS
SAFELY, WHEN THEY DO IT.
I THINK THAT'S THE
NUMBER ONE THING.
SO,
SO, HOW
SO, HOW WOULD THIS HAVE LOOKED IF WE WEREN'T IN A PANDEMIC
AND PEOPLE WERE ON A
CLOSED PLAUGROUND?
VERY SIMILAR, PARKS AND
REC CAN CLOSE PARKS. IF
THEY DO, YOU CAN'T BE
THERE.LIKE BEING THERE
AFTER DARK.
AFTER DARK.