Protesters, including Vauhxx Booker holding megaphone, argue with Bloomington City Council member Steve Volan, right, after interrupting Mayor John Hamilton’s State of the City speech Thursday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Staff photo by Jeremy Hogan
Lauren Bavis and Kurt Christian, Herald-Times
Protesters first shouted, then used a megaphone to bring Mayor John Hamilton’s State of the City address to a halt Thursday evening.
Hamilton’s third annual address came to a premature end when protesters shouted over his prepared remarks to contest the Bloomington Police Department’s purchase of an armored vehicle.
As part of his prepared speech, Hamilton briefly commented on the controversy the vehicle has sparked in recent days and laid out his plans for future community meetings to discuss its use.
“We in government, collectively, did not air enough of those questions and concerns publicly early enough,” Hamilton said. “We’re making up time now.”
After Hamilton laid out his plan for additional public meetings, Vauhxx Booker, organizer for Black Lives Matter Bloomington, stood to interrupt. He was joined by dozens of other audience members, who began shouting as the mayor tried to continue his speech.
The protesters argued that purchasing the armored truck was militarizing the local police department, and that the mayor was excluding parts of the community from the conversation.
“We don’t want that in our community,” Booker said after the event was over.
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