KKK Leader: Request for Police Security Was Denied

He says he was told: 'We don't do that'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 1, 2016 12:02 AM CST
KKK Leader: Request for Police Security Was Denied
A Ku Klux Klansman, left, uses an American flag to fend off angry counter-protesters.   (Luis Sinco)

A Ku Klux Klan leader who was injured when his small group of demonstrators brawled with counter-protesters in a California park says he called police beforehand asking for security and was told, "We don't do that." Will Quigg tells the AP that he contacted the Anaheim Police Department but the agency denied his requests for a police presence. The KKK then told officers that the group would hire an outside security company. "They said, 'No, you can't do that either,'" Quigg says. The police department is facing scrutiny for its response after three people were stabbed and several others were injured in the melee Saturday. Investigators determined that Klan members acted in self-defense after the counter-protesters attacked.

Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt says that when Quigg and about five others arrived at the park on Saturday and were confronted by dozens of angry counter-protesters, officers were present, but he declined to say how many. He acknowledged that Quigg had contacted the department but believed that the group leader was asking for police to act as personal security guards. "He was told how to contract for officers to do that but did not want to spend the money," Wyatt says. On Monday night, some 300 people took part in a candlelight vigil and peace protest in the same park. The group marched from Pearson Park to City Hall, and although the gathering got loud at times, Wyatt says it remained peaceful. (More Ku Klux Klan stories.)

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