A rally in support of law enforcement and Bradford Police Chief Hiel “Butch” Bartlett has been set for Saturday afternoon in downtown Bradford.
The event, slated to begin at noon, is being organized by city residents J.B. and Vanessa Bartlett, cousins of Butch Bartlett, and will be held in Veterans Square.
The gathering’s Facebook page description of the event reads, “Veterans Park gathering in support of Blue Lives and Butch Bartlett. We want our Police Chief back! I want to gather everyone that is in support of safety and our community to come together and not let criminals dictate how our society works. I call on every person that wants to make a difference to come and support us. I will not leave the square until we are heard. When a nation is in unrest. When people want to help but don’t know how they can help or make a difference. This is how. You start by bettering your community. It only spreads from there.”
During the rally, petitions requesting the reinstatement of Butch Bartlett will be circulated for attendees to sign. Bartlett, along with Patrolman Matthew Gustin, was placed on paid administrative leave in May following a complaint alleging misconduct by the officers during an arrest of city resident Matthew Confer.
When contacted by The Era on Thursday, Butch Bartlett expressed his appreciation for those supporting him, but noted, “I didn’t plan it; I don’t have anything to do with it. I’m asking the community to please be safe. Eventually the truth will prevail.”
As of a June 7 Facebook posting by City of Bradford Mayor James McDonald, Gustin and Bartlett were still on paid administrative leave.
The mayor added in the post, “With everything going on in our country involving police officers and the people that they have sworn to protect, it is absolutely crucial that a full and complete investigation is carried out and that every fact is found.”
J.B. Bartlett said that while the rally is in support of Bradford’s police chief, “it’s mostly to speak out against all the hatred and bigotry toward police officers. That’s the main focus… If we take authority to enforce laws from our police officers, then we’ll have a lawless society.”
J.B. Bartlett said the rally will likely run three or four hours and end in the afternoon, and is requesting those in attendance to wear blue in support of officers.
The end goal, he said, is to let local elected officials know that the “majority of people want laws in our society to be followed, we want our community to respect police, and to live up to what our standards are here… I want them to recognize that the majority of the community stands with police and for the law.”
J.B. Bartlett is also inviting those local officials to show up to the event to hear from attendees on the issues. He also added that the gathering will be peaceful, and noted on the event’s Facebook page that behavior to the contrary will not be tolerated.
“This is the time to do this. There’s no better time to do this,” J.B. Bartlett said. “It’s not to incite an issue or engage in any type of altercation with anybody with a different viewpoint. Anybody out there protesting or voicing their opinion that we shouldn’t have officers, which is asinine, nobody is stymying their voices or saying they shouldn’t say that. We all have this right (to protest), and we need to stop this before it gets out of hand.”
