Veterans’ Square was a busy site Saturday, hosting the “Blue Lives Matter” event organized to support law enforcement and gather signatures on a petition to reinstate currently suspended Bradford City Police Chief Hiel “Butch” Bartlett, while also providing a gathering place for those who oppose police brutality and some who called for Bartlett to be removed from his position. Despite the opposing viewpoints of the people in attendance, peace seemed to be the theme of both events with limited periods of direct conflict.

The sunny but cool day saw area residents of all ages supporting a variety of opinions, all peacefully gathered in groups scattered around the square.

Bradford City Police shut down Marilyn Horne Way and Main Street from Chamber Street to Mechanic Street out of concern for the safety of those gathered.

The Blue Lives Matter event organizers and attendees gathered close to the intersection of Marilyn Horne Way and Main Street. Some attendees carried signs, while most of those who supported the event stopped by briefly to sign the petition and went on their way. “Blue Lives Matter” event organizer John Bartlett, the police chief’s cousin, noted that a little over an hour into the event, he and others circulating petitions had gathered a number of signatures already.

“I think the community has shown great support. We probably have close to 200 signatures; a lot of people walked through and signed the petition before leaving,” said John Bartlett. “We were disappointed to see the anti-protest and have the block shut down. Hopefully I can extend the petition for a few days for people who couldn’t make it.”

John Bartlett said that he intended to have the petitions available for an extra day, since there may be some people interested in signing who couldn’t get to the event because they had to park and walk due to the street closures.

Stacey Nelson, who was also gathering signatures, indicated the message of the event was misunderstood by some.

“This is aimed to be for support of all police forces,” she said.

Meanwhile, the side of the square toward Mechanic Street was lined with individuals holding signs with sayings that included “Black Lives Matter,” “Support Existence or Expect Resistance” and “We support good cops, but Bartlett isn’t one.” The group started out with around 10 to 15 members and grew to around 30 people at one point in the early afternoon.

“I was really only expecting around 10 people. There are really more people here than I expected. We also have more of an age range today,” said Jake Mott, who spearheaded the effort to gather in opposition to police brutality. Mott’s reference to age highlighted the fact that he was in attendance for the protest on June 1, which was largely attended by local youth.

The group chanted various statements, used a microphone to extend the reach of their message and at times played music. Passing motorists seemed supportive of the effort, occasionally giving those in attendance a thumbs up or beeping the horn of their vehicle.

“I see a lot of corruption,” said Jabar Kasper, who held a sign stating “Black Lives Matter.” Kasper shared a story of personal experience with a traffic stop which led to charges against him, which he stated were dropped following a request for camera footage of the traffic stop. He felt discrimination played a role in his case.

Other signs held by individuals in the square directly called for the firing of currently suspended Chief Bartlett, including one that referred to the chief as a “walking Napoleon complex” and one that stated “Release the body cam footage.”

Instances of tension did occur between the group situated along Mechanic Street and two separate small groups of individuals that carried signs stating “Defund Looters” and “Blue Lives Matter,” with raised voices and contradictory views disputed at roughly 1:30 p.m. and again around 2 p.m. One of the periods of conflict was diffused when music began loudly, while the other came to an end with no apparent resolution. Neither required intervention from the law enforcement present.

By 3 p.m, a small group of people holding signs related to “Black Lives Matter” and opposing police brutality remained, but the streets were once again open to through traffic.