Back the Badge supporters gather at Stockyards bar to celebrate police amid protests
Hundreds passed through Stampede Saloon in the Fort Worth Stockyards Saturday night to show their support for police at a Back the Badge event amid nationwide protests against police brutality.
The recently reopened watering hole, under new ownership, hosted the event along with organizer Chris Putnam, donating 10% of all sales to Brotherhood of the Fallen.
The event started with protests from Enough is Enough, a Fort Worth protest group that has been demanding defunding of police, establishment of a community crisis center using funds from the police department and the removal of police from Fort Worth schools.
The crowd of activists shouted chants and obscenities to Back the Badge attendees as a line of bicycle police blocked the entrance to the saloon.
Alex Eugene, 19, of Fort Worth stood outside the bar wearing American flag attire and a cowboy hat and holding a black and white American flag with a single blue line for one of the stripes, a banner commonly displayed to show support for police.
Eugene said he showed up to the bar knowing he wouldn’t be able to get in because he expected protesters to gather there and wanted to show them that not all people who support police are white.
“I felt like they would say no Black people exist on this side and that’s not true,” Eugene said.
Other Back the Badge attendees watched silently for the most part, some replying with shouts like, “Black lives do matter, and so do blue lives and so do all lives.” One person shouted, “I may not agree with you but I still love you.”
A couple of attendees offered to have conversations with the protesters and some offered hugs. Those offers were declined.
About an hour after the event kicked off, protesters left the area. Back the Badge attendees’ silence erupted into cheers for police as bicycle officers rode past the bar to continue blocking streets for protesters and blocking entrances to businesses.
Speakers took the stage shortly after inside the western club to share messages of thanks to first responders and determination.
Putnam told the gathering that the event was not supposed to be political, just an opportunity for people to thank those who serve the community.
“This wasn’t supposed to be something to be provocative,” Putnam told the Star-Telegram. “This is just a gathering of people who want to let police know we support them.”
More like a party
Putnam said the event was a party and a chance to celebrate law enforcement, and give officers able to attend a chance to breathe, relax and know they are appreciated.
He tried to keep politics out of the event, keeping speeches short and immediately playing music and inviting attendees to dance and have drinks after those speeches were done.
Cathy McAfee and her daughter, Ashton Ashberry, said they came to the event after attending a nearby watch party for President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa. They said they didn’t think of it as a protest or counterprotest but as a get-together.
McAfee said she her son is in law enforcement in East Texas and she wanted to show local police that they have supporters in the community.
Putnam also pointed out the notable diversity at the party.
Marshall S. Hobbs Jr., a Black man and associate professor of government at Collin College, told the crowd the diversity in the room was important but the more important thing was that they were all united as Americans.
“We are Americans before we are our color,” Hobbs said. “I am not a color, I am an American, and I encourage everyone to realize that we are fighting a real fight between Americanism and Globalism.”
Putnam said shared values were the focus of the party, not skin color.
“Most of us don’t care about skin color,” he said. “We care about shared values, but it’s OK if we don’t have that as long as we can have a conversation.”
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn told the party that he was there to “remind police that the silent majority is with them.”
“My heroes are America’s police officers,” Waybourn said. “I stand with you, beside you, in front of you and behind you. “
Tommy Snyder, co-owner of Stampede Saloon, said before the speakers took the stage that he wanted to tell police thanks for sacrificing time with their families and working overtime.
Snyder also said he supports protesters so long as they do not cause destruction to property or harm to others, a sentiment echoed by Putnam, Waybourn and others attending the party.
Everyone who spoke with the Star-Telegram said they believe police departments could use reform but that the actions of some officers should not be used to paint all law enforcement in a bad light. They also urged peaceful protesting rather than disruptive or violent protests.
Putnam said there are “bad actors” among police, but that they are an extreme minority being used to paint all police with a brush of systemic racism and brutality.
“Millions of cops and a couple do some bad things, that’s bad but it doesn’t mean all of them are bad,” he said.
Encouraging conversation
Putnam said he wants to see more conversations and mutual respect between protesters and people like Back the Badge attendees.
“Things can change if we stop allowing hate to divide us,” Putnam said. “Nobody is saying we don’t have things that need to be fixed. It’s just about talking and finding out what it is. But I don’t think defunding police is the answer.”
John Miller, an attendee at the event, said he believes police brutality needs to be addressed and police departments may need to implement new training on things like deescalation and use of force. He defended protesters’ rights to gather, though he said he disagrees with their point of view.
Putnam said he respects and appreciates that others have had different experiences than he has. But from his experience as a white conservative, he said the idea that conservatives are racist and all white is wrong.
“I think diversity is who we are,” Putnam said.
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 6:18 PM.