Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief addresses repsonse to violence over the weekend

Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas says law enforcement should have responded quicker when violence broke out downtown over the weekend. 

Thomas says she did not want officers to be targets for either the white nationalist group, the Proud Boys, or for counter-protestors:

The Proud Boys have been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson called the Proud Boys “hate mongers.” City Manager Jim Ritsema echoed those thoughts:

Nine people were arrested Saturday. The City Attorney has dropped misdemeanor charges against five of the counter-protesters, but other more serious charges, including felony assault, have been sent to the County Prosecutors office.