A “Back the Blue” rally was greeted by a human roadblock as it attempted to roll through Port Townsend Sunday afternoon, forcing local police to stop and redirect traffic along Water Street after counterdemonstrators blocked the roadway.

Local police received roughly
30 calls about the moving protest from concerned citizens.

Participants of the demonstration emblazoned their vehicles with slogans and flags voicing their support of law enforcement as well as incumbent president Donald Trump and Washington’s Republican gubernatorial hopeful Loren Culp.

Port Townsend Police Chief Troy Surber said his department received 15 of those calls, with complaints ranging from reports of drivers honking their horns and revving engines, to others harassing the public and swearing.

“Someone reported that he was going to close his business because there were too many people down there,” Surber said before noting that no arrests were made in connection to the demonstration or those who blocked Water Street.

Surber said Port Townsend police were not told in advance of the rally, but learned about it on Facebook.

“I believe that the notice was on Facebook that everybody in Jefferson County was somewhat aware of,” Surber said.

The rally started at HJ Carroll Park in Chimacum.

The chief said organizers for previous demonstrations, such as the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this summer, gave more direct notice of their planned protest. But this time around, nobody from the Back the Blue demonstration called his department ahead of time.

When Surber arrived at the scene, counterdemonstrators had already gathered near Tyler Street, with many people blocking Water Street to keep the caravan from continuing. 

“When I arrived on scene, Tyler Street was blocked with about 50 or 60 people,” Surber said. “They were presenting their opinions in contrast to those of the people in the cars.”

The chief added that to the best of his knowledge, the event did not hinder operations for ferry service at the nearby Washington State Ferries terminal.

Because of the volume of protesters blocking the roadway, Surber said police made the decision to start turning incoming vehicles around and away from downtown.

The chief was careful to note that making the call to turn the cars back was not in any way reflective of the department’s feelings for either group’s message, and he added that the drivers had already made a pass through the downtown core at that point.

“The vehicles were turned around due to the folks blocking the street, to keep things safe,” Surber said. “Taking the totality of the entire situation into consideration, we modified traffic for a short period of time. At no time did anybody try to stop a message.”

Jefferson County Sheriff Joe Nole said his office also received about 15 calls during the demonstration, primarily complaints of excessive noise and unsafe driving, though the activity was primarily confined to Port Townsend.

“It freaked a bunch of people out,” Nole said.

He said more residents, concerned and upset, had called in the wake of the demonstration. People, Nole said, “who can’t believe what they saw.”

Nole said no organizers had contacted his office about the demonstration ahead of time. Though not a legal obligation, the sheriff said it was appreciated and encouraged for those seeking to organize a public demonstration to give law enforcement a head’s up in advance.

The sheriff praised the Port Townsend Police Department for its handling of the rally.

“They averted a situation that could have gotten worse,” Nole said.

— Leader reporter Luciano Marano contributed to this story