Protesters plead with Brunswick police officers to take a knee with them to show that black lives matter near the Brunswick police station Sunday night. Darcie Moore / The Times Record

BRUNSWICK — Police in Bath and Brunswick say they’re ready and willing to continue the dialogue surrounding racism, police brutality and racial bias following peaceful, if tense, rallies in Brunswick and Bath.

Brunswick Police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said he has had dozens of “very insightful” conversations over the past few days, and the department hopes to involve some of the protesters in training exercises with officers.

Others expressed interest in a larger, townwide meeting. However, with limits on social gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, Waltz said that was not immediately possible, but “we absolutely get the message and are willing to talk.” 

Hundreds gathered Sunday on the Brunswick downtown mall before marching to the police station, in protest of police brutality following the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who was killed last week by a white police officer. 

The Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, despite Floyd’s cries that he could not breathe. The video of Floyd’s death, coupled with heightened tensions over a series of other racial and police-related deaths in recent few months, has sparked outrage and protests across country. 

“Tensions everywhere are like a tinderbox right now,” Waltz said, attributing some of that to “a lot of misunderstanding on both sides.” 

He said officers will have to work toward putting themselves in others’ shoes and trying to be aware of when people may feel unsafe. 

In the same vein, though, Waltz said crowding police and immediately questioning officers’ actions can also create tension.

“We need to have more understanding on both sides,” he said. 

Waltz commended protester Toby Holton, who he said helped calm the crowd Sunday night, even as tensions started to rise.

“I can tell you that many of us were scared,” Waltz said, “not because we’re cowards, but because if there were a few more agitators, that could have gone in the opposite direction.”  

“We don’t want people hurt, we don’t want officers hurt and we don’t want property damaged,” he said. 

On Sunday, Holton said he was recently pulled over by a Brunswick Police officer and was afraid, but said the interaction ultimately was peaceful. Hearing about Holton’s initial fear was important, Waltz said, because officers may not always know when someone is feeling unsafe. Holton started “important dialogue we needed to hear,” he said. 

In Bath, roughly 50 people protested peacefully on Monday, marching from the courthouse to City Hall to the police department. Bath police officers did not join the protest, Chief Mike Field said, because the gathering remained peaceful and he did not want the officers to disrupt or get in the way of their message. 

None of the protestors or event organizers have reached out to the department yet, Field said, though he said he’s willing to meet with anybody who has concerns. 

Field condemned Chauvin’s actions in a press release on Tuesday, and said what happened to Floyd was “wrong, criminal, against any police practice I know, and shocked me and our police officers to the core.” The action has damaged the department’s continuing efforts to build trust in the community, he added. 

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the courthouse in Bath Monday night, chanting “Hands up! Don’t shoot” and “Justice for George,” among others. Protests and demonstrations have been sweeping the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. John Swinconeck / The Times Record

“I don’t want people to be scared of us,” he said in an interview. “We’re part of the community. We have a job to do to maintain public safety, but if people are scared, I want to hear about it, I want to have that discussion.” 

Field also said in his statement that the department will not tolerate any form of racism. 

“People will be treated equally and fairly. When action must be taken, it will be within policy, and at the least level needed. If anything other than that occurs, we will hold officers accountable,” he said. He added that he hopes these protests will open avenues for communication that can lead to peace and healing.

Joel Merry, Sagadahoc County Sheriff, also said he has not been contacted by any protesters, but that he would “welcome the opportunity to sit down and talk to anyone about any issues.” 

“I think the more dialogue that we can have, the better we can begin to understand and get to view one another’s take on the things that are happening,” he said. 

Merry applauded the protesters for remaining peaceful, staying on the sidewalk, not blocking traffic and not vandalizing any property, as has been the case in some rallies in other parts of the country. 

“I believe there was an opportunity for folks to show that over time our country hasn’t effectively or properly addressed the issues related to racial inequality. … We need to have that conversation that there still remains racism in our country today and the only way to do that is to civilly sit down and express our point of view and listen,” he said. “There’s a lot of anger out there and we’re got to let the anger out but in a constructive way so these folks can be heard.” 

Merry added that he hopes the voices of the people who want to be heard will rise above those who are looting and destroying property and not let their message be “clouded by the senseless acts of violence and destruction.” The department’s deputies have received implicit bias training and take issues around treating everyone fairly very seriously, he said, and asked that any future protests continue to be done peacefully. 

“It makes (the message) much clearer,” he said. “We look forward to the dialogue.