Assembly Ordinance?
At 7:30 pm Wednesday, July 2, the Legislative Council is expected to review a request to grant the Police Department the authority to require permits for large gatherings or parades organized in the town and to charge organizer for the overtime of the police. The review may or may not lead to a referral to the council's Ordinance Subcommittee. A public hearing will not be held on that date — the council must notice any hearing 10 days before the date of the hearing.
It's a sticky wicket. The Rock This Democracy protests, which have been occurring monthly, is clearly the source of the chief's consternation, as assigning regular police presence to larger gathering must be putting a significant hole in his overtime budget at a time when budgets are tight and about to get even tighter. Organizers and supporters of the events, which so far have occurred on April 5, April 19, May 1, and June 14. Those events followed two community dialogue events at Edmond Town Hall in February and March. Estimates say 1,500 residents from Newtown and surrounding towns attended the June 14 event. A July event has not yet been announced, but Rock This Democracy coordinates with other protest groups around the country and there were 1,800 protests coordinated with the June 14 event as part of a "No Kings" rally.
Obviously, these protesters would like to be able to keep their ability to quickly and nimbly schedule events — the "No Kings" event was announced roughly a week before the event itself, to stay coordinated with the other groups.
From the perspective of the police department, the fact that the Rock This Democracy group has had four events already, and each seeing increasing attendance, has the chief justifiably concerned that protests continuing as long as the weather allows (possibly into late fall/early winter) could put a hole in his $255,465 overtime budget, even with a $34,111 increase over last year's budget. Large, near monthly protests in town is a fairly unprecedented event, and even with an increase, if the PD finds itself low on overtime funds by the end of fiscal year 2025-26 there may be woefully few ways to fill in that gap with such a tight budget, barring going to the reserve fund. Some measure of proactiveness on the part of the department's leadership is not surprising in preventing problems down the road.
However, an ordinance for a perhaps once in a lifetime series of events may be an overreaction. Anything that the Rock This Democracy is saddled with in the form of an ordinance will also be a burden faced by any future event in town and could in fact discourage grassroots public gatherings of any sort.
While not entirely against the idea of an ordinance in some form if the council deems it necessary, it seems a better course of action may be, rather than set something in stone that will affect all future protests and parades, for the PD administration and the Rock This Democracy organizers to sit down together, perhaps at a Police Commission meeting, and hash out a mutually beneficial agreement.
I support Chief Kullgren’s request to explore permitting, and cost-sharing for large gatherings. The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, and I fully support the constitutional right to free speech and assembly. However, where and how often these protests occur matters.
Main Street is not just a symbol — it’s a vital artery for daily life in town. When events are held there monthly, and at increasing scale, they cause disruption to residents, businesses, and traffic. While the Rock This Democracy group may describe these protests as unique or urgent, the frequency — roughly once every two weeks this spring — suggests more of a recurring series than a singular, spontaneous moment of civic expression.
This isn’t about silencing anyone. It’s about fairness, public safety, and fiscal responsibility. Every time a protest happens, our police department is forced to assign resources, often on overtime. That expense adds up quickly. If any group wants to use public space regularly, particularly in a way that impacts traffic and requires police presence, then it’s reasonable for the town to consider permitting and cost-sharing — just as we do for other organized events like races, festivals, or parades. Let’s protect everyone’s rights — including the right of the community to function smoothly and the right of taxpayers not to bear undue cost for repeated events. I trust the Council to consider a reasonable path forward that balances speech with responsibility.
The Editor suggest a meeting between the “Rock This Democracy ” and the Police Commission. As a former Police Commissioner the Chief should have followed the chain of command and discussed this with the Police Commission. The Chief reports to the Elected Police Commission not our Republican First Selection. Can’t help but feel this is Republican politics again making an issue out of a non issue.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The 1st Amendment does NOT say “except when there’s a budget problem, or when some people wish things would quiet down.” There is no way a proposed ordinance can be construed as other than singling out RockthisDemocracy, and also no way the town does not get expensively buried in court should it be foolish enough to go down this path.