A small group of Vermilion County residents braved the snow and cold weather early Saturday morning to support law enforcement officers in the Danville area.
The group stood along South Street in front of the Public Safety Building, waving and cheering as the third-shift officers arrived back at the end of their shifts and to the first-shift officers as they started their day.
Rebekah Holt-Miller, the wife of Vermilion County Sheriff’s Deputy Pete Miller, organized Saturday’s rally. She says it was planned in only a short time, after the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 3653, which reforms law enforcement throughout the state.
“That was the tipping point,” she says. “It was just that these guys need support and they have people trying to dictate how they do their job who have no idea how they do their job, or even how to do their job.”
(Rebekah Holt-Miller and Shelby Schull stand with a Thin Blue Line flag outside the Public Safety Building on Saturday morning.)
The Police Support Rally is actually two rallies. The first was from 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. and another is scheduled this afternoon from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. so that the public can support officers on all shifts.
Several members of the Danville Police Department, including Commander Kyle O’Brien, thanked members of the group for showing their support. Others drove by in police cruisers, sounding their sirens and flashing their lights. Others in attendance included State Representative Mike Marron and Vermilion County Treasurer Darren Duncan.
