Chief Robert White apologized to a group of parents and children last night at the Newburg Community Center for the actions of officers Saturday night at the Robben's Roost skating rink on Six Mile Lane. The meeting was organized by Council member Barbara Shanklin.
The apology comes on the heels of several complaints by parents stating that police used excessive force when dealing with the unruly teens when they used mace and pepperball guns to disperse the crowd of approximately 700 to 800 people.
Andrea Hammond told White "This would have never happened at Valley skating rink, I felt like I was in slave days."
"Police are supposed to be protecting our children, not putting them into harm's way at midnight," Marina Gonzalez said.
Many people stated they were upset that their children were forced to leave the rink near midnight without rides home and with nowhere else to go.
"Police are supposed to be protecting our children, not putting them into harm's way at midnight," Marina Gonzalez said.
White acknowledged that the situation could have been avoided and encouraged those attending to file complaints to help in the internal investigation.
Many officers are upset by what they feel is a premature apology and lack of support by Chief White. "The chief of the department has digraced every LMPD officer in uniform by apologizing before an investigation has been completed.""Once again he is convicting his officers before all the evidence is in."