GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two days after violent riots broke out downtown Grand Rapids, we are hearing from city and state leaders about what's to come.
On Sunday, volunteers from across our state came downtown to help cleanup the damage left behind at more than 100 damaged businesses, according to Grand Rapids police.
Allison Farole. the City's Emergency Management Administrator, says her department usually responds to situations like community disasters but is now helping the city cleanup after the riots.
With more protests planned in the city, Farole said she is hoping we can move forward as a community.
"We are always preparing for the worst hoping for the best," Farole said.
"With the mayor's orders with a curfew that will go back into place tonight and then we brought in additional resources through the National Guard and utilizing our augmented resources to ensure that we are ready for anything that could potentially happen today," she said.
State Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, applauded the actions of our first responders during the riot.
"In the chaos and fog of battle these amazing professionals did not blink or stumble," Albert said.
“The death of George Floyd was a horrific tragedy and justice must be served. While I understand and respect anyone who wants to demonstrate peacefully to bring attention to this injustice, it is discouraging that what was clearly intended to be a peaceful protest quickly devolved into a riot instigated by extremists with an anarchist ideology," Albert said in a statement.
“This is America and we will rebuild, we will come back stronger, and we overcome this adversity," he said.
