Hundreds of people from the Detroit-area gathered outside the Bloomfield Hills police department today to show their support for police officers across the country. Singing songs and carrying signs, mostly saying "Keep Your Faith In The Blue", after a song by the same name and written by retired Detroit Police Sargent, Michael Sanders. Sanders and his wife, Tewanda, also attended the event.
Participants lined up and down Long Lake Rd near Woodard - all wearing masks and/or social distancing. Cars drove by and beeped their horns to show their support. Speakers told heroic stories about their positive personal encounters with the Bloomfield Hills Police Department. Several officers came out to express their gratitude for the support.
The event was arranged by resident Ellen DeMaris and Detroit's Positive Patriot, Robert Dempster. Together they called on friends and neighbors and promoted it on social media and on Dempster's weekly radio show on WDTK. "When I watched New York's Police Chief get hit with a stick and the blood all over his white shirt, I stood up in my living room and said to myself that I had to do something", DeMaris said on The Positive Patriot radio program. The next day, after seeing the protesters on Long Island, she realized that she had to put this event together.
Today's event was one of several being planned around the area in the upcoming weeks, all orchestrated by various community groups.