Overview
- Videos and witness testimony from the June 7 Pride gatherings showed officers using horses, motorcycles, barricades and at times Tasers to move crowds, and about 15 people were arrested that day.
- Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel defended the department’s actions at the hearing but said June 7 was “not a perfect day” and pledged improved planning for next year.
- The department identified “eight or nine” officers who wore facial coverings and confirmed an officer had been ‘arcing’ a Taser, measures now under internal disciplinary review and followed by a ban on Taser arcing.
- Advocates and community speakers told Council the response was traumatizing, disproportionately targeted Black and brown attendees and destroyed trust, and they demanded an independent after-action review and a permanent LGBTQ+ public safety advisory body.
- Officials say planning was complicated because the official Parkway Pride event moved this year and drew a ticketed crowd while thousands gathered in the Gayborhood, a gap that city leaders say they will reassess going into next year.