Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper issued an additional clarification to his Wednesday morning press release on Wednesday afternoon:
Several people have expressed concern in reference to me specifically naming Ms. Delgado in my early morning media release. I by no means intended to single her out. Ms. Delgado has announced that she was the planner of last weeks event and further announced that she was planning a second event for this upcoming weekend. By naming her, I was simply acknowledging her as the coordinator of these events. People have also stated that I should be focusing on the counter protest / hate groups instead of Ms. Delgado. Rest assured HPD has put in countless hours tracking these threats and we take them very seriously. The officers that were deployed last Saturday were there to make sure it was a peaceful event and that Ms. Delgado and her group were protected from those that might seek to do them harm. We also stand committed the to safety and protection of all our citizens. We have and always will fight for equal rights and protections for every member of our community.
The original release is below in italics:
The Hutchinson Police Department has been informed that the organizer of the protest from last Saturday, Teresa Delgado, is planning a second protest for this upcoming Sunday, June 14, 2020.
Last weekend’s event sparked a lot of controversy and had the potential to become violent. This past week it was only through countless hours of behind the scenes work that we were able to mitigate the threat to this community. These efforts from community leaders and HPD resulted in a peaceful outcome. However, this event did have a major negative impact on our community. The event caused widespread fear to the extent that many community members would not even leave their homes. Small businesses and banks closed, with some even boarding up their windows. These businesses have suffered enough lately with COVID-19 and this was just another blow to them and our community. With the City of Hutchinson and Reno County trying to work through financial shortfalls, the Law Enforcement resources and expenses of more than $30,000 were just another negative impact to our taxpayers.
We are attempting to work with Ms. Delgado on the event she wants to plan for this weekend. I fully support and respect her and her groups right to freedom of speech. I want them to be able to get their message out in a peaceful manner. But I also have a responsibility to every member of this community. I have a duty to make sure that the rights of all citizens are not infringed upon. We will continue to work tirelessly towards this goal. I am committed to allowing this group to have a peaceful protest but at the same time I will not allow the event to infringe on the rights of the citizens of Hutchinson.