False reports were phoned into the Ohio County 911 Center Tuesday morning and afternoon concerning the alleged arrival of buses with out-of-town protestors as passengers, according to Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron.
That information coupled with a plethora of rumors placed the city’s first responders on high alert as they prepared for a second peaceful protest in front of the Ohio County Courthouse. On Sunday, more than 200 individuals gathered in front of 1500 Chapline Street to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. One officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder, and three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
“Calls were received by the Ohio County 911 dispatchers about those buses, and I was in the room when someone reported that the buses had arrived in the Lowe’s parking lot. At the same time, the Lowe’s parking lot was being monitored, and there was no sign of any buses in that lot at the time that particular call was received, or at any time,” Herron said. “Why some were making those kinds of calls, we have no idea.
“But those calls are examples of what was coming from the public, and when that kind of information is received, it has to be checked on,” the city manager insisted. “But those kinds of reports didn’t help the situation because there are a lot of people who listen to their scanners, and those reports fueled the rumors even more.”
A Peaceful Sunday
Men and women of all ages and races began to gather Sunday afternoon for a 6 p.m. protest in front of the Ohio County Courthouse, and once the event ended, many individuals marched on several streets in downtown Wheeling.
“There was a demonstration that was held on Sunday, and we became aware of that the day before. It was a peaceful protest, no doubt about that,” Herron said. “Everyone was excellent, and our community leaders spoke, and it was a very peaceful event.
“There really were no issues. We did have a situation where roadways were getting blocked, but it was a Sunday evening in downtown Wheeling, so that didn’t cause any real issues for anyone,” he explained. “And then on Sunday we were made aware that there would be another one on Tuesday at noon, and we prepared for that event based on what was seen on Sunday.”
Herron confirmed the Wheeling Police Department was prepared to ensure safety for all involved Sunday and again on Tuesday, and he also said the city did not order lockdowns for either event.
“Our police department did an excellent job on Sunday and they were prepared for Tuesday, too, but things snowballed with rumors and things of that nature,” Herron explained. “That was very frustrating for us because it was impossible for us to address every single rumor. But our police department did have good intelligence because they monitor a lot of stuff. They can’t catch everything, of course, but they do great work to keep the residents as safe as possible.
“The police department did make a statement in the morning that there wasn’t an ordered lockdown, and that was based on the intelligence they had collected, and if they had heard something or found credible information about a dangerous situation, they are going to let the public know right away,” the city manager said. “We all have to take our own precautions with your own safety in mind, but we’re always going to get as much information out as possible.”
The Unrecognized
Herron and Ron Scott Jr., cultural diversity community outreach director for the Wheeling YWCA, both reported the presence of some people no one knew during the Sunday event and during the march in downtown. Scott, in fact, engaged the seven men while, he said, they were attempting to instruct others to block roadways.
“One of them was with my daughter, too, and that’s when I asked them what they were trying to do,” Scott said this week on The Watchdog (98.1 FM WKKX and 97.7 FM WVLY). “After I and a couple of others spoke to them, they stopped that, and I didn’t see them around anymore.
“I had noticed them during the protest, and they just sort of hung in the back and didn’t say much at all,” he recalled. “I didn’t know who they were or what they were about, but eventually we did speak to them, and everything was all right after that.”
The presence, Herron confirmed, added to the precautions taken for Tuesday’s scheduled event.
“We do know that there were some people here who were from out of town, and they did try to get involved with some of the road blockage, and there was some thought that those folks would return on Tuesday, but we didn’t know for sure,” Herron said. “The problems that they did cause were addressed very quickly, and Ron Scott Jr. played a role in that, and we appreciated that.
“Ron is truly a community leader here in the city of Wheeling,” he continued. “But it was the rumor about the buses of people coming into town that was a big issue, and that’s why we were watching a lot of places using the cameras that we do have to see if there was any sign of anything coming true.”
