‘Back the Blue’ Event Calls for Local Police Support

A "Back the Blue" Lineup during Saturday's event at Riverside Church in Three Rivers (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

An event called “Back the Blue,” honoring law enforcement workers, took place on the grounds of Riverside Church in Three Rivers Saturday. Organized by White Pigeon Police Sgt. Ashley Zimmer, the event featured giveaway prize drawings, take-home souvenirs for attendees, music, food trucks, a dunk tank, yard games, and a blessing. Police officers from several communities as well as the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police were on hand to meet and speak with members of the public who attended.

Zimmer said the event was meant to serve as a morale booster and community gathering. “An informal backyard party is what I would call it. This is my version of a rally, where people can grab food and play yard games and listen to music. I’m more of that kind of structured person. I think this speaks to a community more than a rally does.”

Three Rivers Police Chief Tom Bringman said, “The event, for those of us in law enforcement, just helps to assure us that there are people out there that appreciate what we do and understand we do our job because we care about people. We try to protect and serve all people. It’s just nice to see people get together and laugh and have a good time for a good cause.”

Bringman attended the event at Zimmer’s invitation. “Ashley gave us a call probably about a month ago, letting us know that it was going to be taking place and that everybody would be invited,” he said. Some other officers could not attend due to having children at conflicting events, but he said, “I asked her to send out an email, which I sent along to everyone in the department. There was a flyer that just said everybody come from 12 to three and is invited support law enforcement.”

Zimmer said she wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of public response to the event. “Based on social media and the news, I really had no idea,” she said. “I thought it could go either way. I thought, ‘I could have one person here supporting, and a thousand protestors.’ I hoped for what we’re seeing at this moment right now, people just coming out and enjoying the community and showing their support. Honestly, right now, this is an amazing thing that’s happening right here, so I’m thankful for what it’s turned out to be.”


The event comes amidst a series of protests that have been ongoing across the country since the late springtime. Those protests have been in response to several high-profile killings of unarmed, Black American civilians. Nationwide, tensions grew in early May when video surfaced showing a jogger named Ahmaud Arbery being pursued and shot by a retired officer and his son in Georgia earlier in the year. 

Shortly before that video emerged, a Louisville, Kentucky woman named Breonna Taylor was shot to death during a late-night raid on her house. Then, in late May, a Minneapolis, Minnesota man by the name of George Floyd died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes. When the officers involved in that case were not immediately arrested, protests erupted in Minneapolis and quickly spread to other cities and towns. In Minneapolis and elsewhere, protests quickly turned to riots that lasted several days.

Joining many other small towns across the nation, Three Rivers held a “Stand for the Right to Breathe” protest on Monday, June 1, the week following Floyd’s death. More than 300 people attended the protest, which took place in the downtown east walk-through and on Main Street, and was held peacefully. Bringman and St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite were among that protest’s speakers.

In larger cities, some protests included looting and property destruction, as well as a few instances of anti-police violence, while others were peaceful. In many cases, some police departments said, property destruction and looting came through outside agitators, and was usually instigated by small groups of people. 

Further developments in Taylor and Floyd’s cases, the surfacing of other cases in the past few months, and widespread reports of controversial and confrontational or violent tactics in response to protests in some cities have prompted further demonstrations and vigils.

Protestors often see evidence that the incidents are driven by systemic racism, individual prejudice, excessive dependence on measures of physical force, and accountability issues in police forces. They have variously called for different measures ranging from increased accountability reforms and redistribution of some police responsibilities and resources among social workers and other professionals to complete demilitarization or abolition of police forces.

In response to those calls and to widespread civil unrest, counter demonstrations and advocacy movements have emerged in defense of police officers and their work. Many advocates for these causes say that police forces do not have all the resources they need to do their work in what is a dangerous and stressful profession. 

Sgt. Ashley Zimmer, White Pigeon Police Department

Many police advocates also say incidents like those that sparked this year’s protests were either justified by facts and circumstances that necessitated officers’ self-defense or are representative only of isolated instances of poor conduct. Officers or departments involved in all three of this year’s highest-profile cases are currently subject to either ongoing criminal investigation, conduct reviews, court proceedings, or litigation.

Zimmer counts herself among those who believe media coverage of the incidents and the protest that have followed has been harmful to police. “At the end of August, I was feeling a little bit disheartened by the news media and the coverage as it related to law enforcement and the officers that are out there every day and night protecting our communities,” she said.

The event was a response to that for Zimmer. “I kind of got tired just sitting back and kind of accepting that as a narrative that was out there, and wanted to show the people I work with every day and night, that there are people who support us out there, and that there is an event for people out there in our community who do support us to come out and show that support.”

Zimmer said, “I just think it’s important for news outlets to share honest information, to share all of the news that’s out there and not skew things based on opinion but just deliver the facts. The fairest way to communicate about how we do our jobs is just with facts.”

Having grown up in a Detroit suburb, Zimmer said, “Western Michigan University brought me to this side of the state. I graduated from there in 2003 after attending Kalamazoo Valley Community College Police Academy,” she said. “As soon as I got into it, it became my heart’s desire to be in law enforcement.”

After graduation, Zimmer went to work for the White Pigeon Police Department, then worked eight years for the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department. She “had a little hiatus when I had my daughter.” Zimmer returned to White Pigeon Police Department in 2017, “and that’s where I have remained.”

Saturday’s event reflects some of the qualities Zimmer feels are most positive about her profession. “I should say I organized it, but just like in law enforcement, you’ve got people who are willing to hold you up and support you, so that’s what’s made all this possible. It’s just people willing to throw in a hand and set tables up and set tents up. My night officer is the one doing the music and my neighbors supplied the games, so everybody is just throwing their hats into the ring to make it all happen.”


Tracy Cole, the Ministry Leader for Riverside Church’s Celebrate Recovery program

Riverside Church did not play a role in organizing the event, but felt the cause was important and provided its grounds to host it. Pastor Jamey Smith told attendees, “We’re so glad that y’all have joined us here today to support our law enforcement officials.” Smith delivered a blessing for the officers, deputies, and troopers in attendance.

“We rest better each night and we go about our daily lives in safety, knowing that our police force is always a phone call away and are willing to help us in our time of need.”

Tracy Cole, the Ministry Leader for the church’s Celebrate Recovery program said, “we back it because we back the police officers in our community. We back the officers in other communities, and we just want them to know that we support them, and we care about them, and we pray for them daily. We know how important it is for them to have safety and to go back home to their families, so we support them.”

Regarding the current national situation, Zimmer said, “the work has always remained the same. I wouldn’t say the way we navigate it has changed. I would say the civilians we have come in contact with, that temperature has changed a bit, but we go about doing our jobs the way we always have.” 

In response, Zimmer said Saturday’s event was meant to “show the community, ‘hey, we’re just like everybody else. We have families. We have people that rely on us. We’re all the same. Just because we wear a uniform doesn’t make us any different.”

Michigan State Police Trooper Martha Byl

Other officers in attendance Saturday echoed Zimmer’s remarks. Michigan State Police Trooper Martha Byl said, “It’s just good to get out in the community, just to see people. Some people we see a little bit more than others, maybe they’ve called us, they’ve had places broken into and they’re just coming back out to support us. It’s really good, and just to show them that we’re people too. Obviously, I can’t play cornhole. We’re not superheroes. Just to get out in the community and show people that, ‘hey, we’re people, we have fun, too, in our lives.’ It’s nice to see their support.”

Captain Chris Smith of the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department’s Mounted Division said, “It’s a great event for the people that back the Sheriff’s Department and ‘back the blue’ as we back the community.” 

Like Byl, Smith, and others, Michigan State Police Trooper Jason Sylvester mingled with Saturday’s crowds. “It’s great, honestly, to be able to come here and see the support from the community. As you well know, law enforcement’s taken kind of a negative light here as of late. It’s nice to be able to come out and be appreciated,” Smith said. “Honestly, I just wanted to be here to come out and let people know we are here, we are human, and that we do appreciate the support.”

Like Zimmer, Smith said work continues as usual. “With the political climate being what it is, if you ask me if I do anything different, I don’t. I’m not going to do anything different for anybody. I still have a job to do, I took the oath. I’m here to protect and serve, that’s what I do.” Out in on the job, Smith said, “I can tell you on maybe one occasion I had someone with a negative mindset, but people here in St. Joseph County, they love law enforcement. They love that we’re out here. They love that we’re doing what we do and we’re here to do it for them.”

Three Rivers City Commissioner Clayton Lyczynski II

Three Rivers City Commissioner Clayton Lyczynski II was at Saturday’s event. He said, “I wanted to make sure I stopped by and ‘backed the blue.’ The tremendous effort we get from our law enforcement to serve our community is something worth celebrating, so I am excited to be here and do that today.”

Saturday’s event saw no protestors or other counter-events, which Lyczynski attributed to the festival-like format. “It’s more positive,” he said. “It’s better than a rally format that stirs up a base.” 

Lyczynski said he feels community reconciliation is important for moving forward on national issues. “If you sit down and talk with somebody, you are going to find out you have more in common than you don’t. I would be surprised to find out if every single person here and at opposing events doesn’t care about community. Let’s focus on people and community if that’s what you really care about. How do you work together for that?”

Lorijo Nerad

Lorijo Nerad of Three Rivers was one member of the public who also came to Saturday’s event. “I like to support our police department because of the fact that if I get in trouble and somebody comes after me, I call the police. They are here to protect and serve us, and I just want to back them for that, you know.”

Nerad said, “yes, there needs to me some kind of, I don’t know, not a reform, but I think we need to back them more, because they are here to protect and serve. They’re awesome. I’ve never had a bad run-in with a police officer unless I broke the law.”

Nerad disagrees with that she sees as a nationwide respect issue. “I really feel like people have a lot of gall and audacity to not follow the law. That’s the most striking thing, that people just don’t respect the law. That just blows me away. I may be naïve and this white chick from a small town, but just obey the law. If a police officer asks you to do something, just do it.”

Regarding this summer’s protests, Nerad said, “I know they are looking for justice. I understand that, but there is a way that you can get justice without being ugly and hateful. There’s always peaceful solutions. You don’t burn and loot a city to get your point across. (Breonna Taylor’s) family got $12 million for wrongful death.” Nerad said, “It’s just messed up. There are no sides to be taken on that. She died uselessly, and that was a terrible thing.”

Nerad said she sees a need for an across-the-board reduction in hate. “There are two sides to everything,” she said. “I see reconciliation happening every day when we can gather like this. We can agree to disagree on a lot of things and still be friends. We’re all in the human race.”

59th District State Rep. Aaron Miller

Outgoing 59th District State Representative Aaron Miller said, “I think it’s fair to say there didn’t used to be events like this, or maybe they were all first responders, but I’d say given the times, it’s a great thing to show support for our officers.” 

Miller expressed similar views to Nerad on reconciliation. “Whatever walk of life you’re from, whatever race you’re from, or whatever belief you’re from, I think it’s not controversial to say that we need more of that across the board in America today. I think that while COVID has fueled some unrest and being on edge, I think we as a society are too quick to jump on each other. That’s just my observation, but we need to show more grace and show more respect to each other, for sure.”

Miller recognized the risk involved in police work. “I saw a stat the other day that described critical life incidents,” he said. “Every human being has, on average, one or two or three each lifetime. It said police officers have an average of 800-some, and it was basically your life in danger or someone near you being in danger. That hit me like a ton of bricks.”

Regarding the grievances being expressed by protestors over the summer, Miller said, “What I come back to rest on all the time is that there are bad apples in all professions. The police profession is not immune. The teaching profession is not immune, that’s what I was, and while I am at it, I will say that the legislative profession is not immune either. There are good and bad people in all things.”

However, Miller said, “where somebody commits a crime, either on the citizen side or the police side, that ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and justice ought to be served. One thing that helps in that, for both sides, really, is things like body cameras. It can either prove the police right, and society sees that video go viral perhaps, and the majority might say, ‘oh, well, this was totally reasonable,’ or ‘wow, this was injustice.’”

“The more the truth can come out in incidents like that, the quicker and the easier justice can be served, and that’s the most important thing,” Miller said. “I think that pretty much sums it up. Justice ought to be served in all cases, and that goes for both sides.”

Zimmer sees this summer’s events as part of a longer trend. “I think that, with anything, when things are hot, they are real hot. I am hoping to see that that changes. I know back in the seventies, there was a lot of turmoil surrounding law enforcement, and I think it kind of ebbs and flows. I’m just waiting for the pendulum to swing back.” Allowing that swing to happen “might take a little bit of time, but that’s why we come out and we do things like this,” Zimmer said.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.

Gallery composed and curated by Staff Writer Dave Vago