Showing support: Community holds vigil to support police

BEMIDJI — Community members and police got together Thursday night to pray, listen to speeches and enjoy donuts at Library Park in honor of the area’s law enforcement.

Virginia Overton, of Laporte, planned Thursday’s vigil to show support for officers after the killings of multiple law enforcement officials in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La. The killings followed the fatal police shootings of two black men: Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn.

“We need to support our law enforcement,” Overton said to a group of more than a dozen officers and at least 40 civilians. “They are human beings, and they have families just like we do.”

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/4083628-showing-support-community-holds-vigil-support-police