On Monday night, the police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, talked to protesters and took a knee with them. About 125 people gathered to protest George Floyd's death despite the city's curfew.
As a sign of support and collaboration, officers left their bikes and cars and took a knee with protesters. Police Chief Ed Kraus and the assistant chief walked into the crowd and talked to the protesters, then got down on a knee and prayed with them.
Kraus then told his officers to leave. Kraus said he thinks that what they did is the least they can do while there to show support. "I hope it was meaningful. I hope that they, the people here, saw our hearts."
"We saw their hearts and that they were hurting, and hopefully this will help us build a better community for all of us. We all live here together. We need to get along together."
While talking with some of the organizers, Kraus discovered that the protesters decided to not leave until police officers and SWAT left too. The police chief said that he had no issue pulling back his troops.
A young black man, who had prayed and talked with Kraus, shouted to the crowd; “When SWAT leaves, we leave!”
At 9:30 p.m., those officers turned around and left down Main Street, right after Kraus talked to them. Protesters cheered and clapped.
More protests are planned this week.
