Overview
- Commissioner Kevin Bethel was sharply questioned Wednesday at a City Council oversight hearing and defended the department’s crowd-control choices while saying June 7 “was not a perfect day” and promising stronger planning next year.
- Social media videos and witness testimony showed officers using horses, motorcycles, batons, Tasers, and barricades as they tried to disperse thousands who had gathered in the Gayborhood on June 7.
- Bethel confirmed officers were seen wearing facial coverings in violation of policy and said about "eight or nine" officers are under Internal Affairs investigation, but no final disciplinary actions or formal policy changes have been announced.
- Multiple Pride attendees testified that police pushed and funneled people through a maze of barricades, that the harshest tactics were used on largely Black crowds, and that the response left many traumatized and reluctant to return to the neighborhood.
- LGBTQ advocates and some councilmembers called for an independent review, a permanent LGBTQ+ public safety advisory council, mandatory cultural competency training for officers, and clearer enforcement of accountability as the city begins a longer oversight process.