GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Tuesday night, yet another Grand Rapids City Commission meeting ended during the public comment section before everyone got a chance to speak. Prior to the meeting adjourning, three protesters were escorted out and later arrested in the hallway.
John Williamson was the final person to speak before the meeting was adjourned. Before interviewing with 13 ON YOUR SIDE, he explained that he is seeking treatment for mental health, including PTSD. He said he sometimes does 'fly off the handle.'
Williamson can be seen screaming into the podium microphone, and being escorted out while Mayor Rosalynn Bliss ends the meeting early. Bliss said her job is to keep meetings civil, and said she chose to end Tuesday's meeting early out of concerns for safety.
"I've heard from people in our community who used to come to our meetings, who say, I'm not coming again, because I don't feel safe in the space anymore," Bliss said. She said the decision to adjourn is 'difficult' but she has made that call four times in the past four months at commission meetings.
"It's our meeting," Williamson said. "She's the one deciding that you can only say the F-word once. I don't hear people driving in to say I've been watching these meetings and I'm so mad about how many f-words you've been allowing. They say what we say."
Williamson has attended six commission meetings, and has been seen yelling in the past. He says his frustrations come from inaction — that city leaders are paying lip service to the concerns of their constituents while not working for change.
"City Commission meetings, they aren't set up to be this back and forth dialogue, they never have been," Mayor Bliss said. "It's an opportunity for us to listen and for people to be heard.
During the meeting, 1st Ward Commissioner Jon O'Conner stood up, swore aloud saying he's 'sick of this' and left with at least 30 minutes remaining in public comment time. O'Conner could not be reached for comment, and we were told he is out of town on business.
Around the same time, three protesters were arrested in the hallway after being escorted out of the meeting. A spokesperson for the city told us "One was charged with Resisting and Obstructing. The other two were charged with 'Assault, Battery, Resisting, or Obstructing.'”
Williamson took video of that arrest. His video does not show all three of the protesters who were detained, but does show two being tackled to the ground. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom, who can be seen briefly in the video, said one of the protesters intentionally backed into a GRPD officer, shoving them into the wall, which prompted the arrest.
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