Arlington Protester With 'Racist Murderer Cops' Sign Arrested

ARLINGTON, MA – An Arlington man was arrested during a protest on Mass. Ave. Monday evening, police said. Alexander Bergeron, 23, was standing in the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Mystic Street, kicking cars and blocking the flow of traffic, police said.

Bergeron was arrested around 6:30 p.m. While other protesters lined the roadway and stood on the median, Bergeron stood in the middle of the road with a sign reading, "No more racist murderer cops change now," according to a police statement. When he was confronted by officers, who asked him to join the other protesters on the side of the road, he refused and claimed he had a right to protest, police said.

Members of Bergeron's family arrived at the scene and asked him to move out of the road, but he did not respond. A group of officers and family members convened around Bergeron, causing a dangerous situation as traffic was forced to bypass the group, police said.

Bergeron was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Police said he told officers he had a three-inch folding knife in his pocket, which was removed when he was taken into custody.

In an email to Patch, Bergeron wrote that he went into the intersection to confront a man yelling "profanity and hate speech" from his car. He said he "regrettably gestured as to kick the car" as it sped off, but it was the only vehicle he made contact with and traffic continued to bypass him.

"I had to remain in the intersection as I realized that it would not be safe for me to move at that time and furthermore I felt as though that was where I needed to be to effectively exercise my right to protest," Bergeron wrote.

Bergeron said police initially requested that he leave the intersection, and he "exercised my right to remain silent" as more officers and other protesters convened in the street. This culminated in him being "pushed and removed from the road," Bergeron said.

Regarding his sign, Bergeron wrote, "I mainly displayed the sentence 'no more racist corrupt system change now.' On the reverse side of my sign I had written the sentence 'no more racist murderer cops change now' to which I displayed only to police officers in order to make a stronger impact." He added that he believes police officers are inherently good, but "the police as an institution has many extreme issues which have been unaddressed for decades."

"The message I would truly like to convey is for every citizen of this country and every member of the human race to cast aside hatred and bias as well as our perceived differences in order to unite in peace, love and equality for all of mankind," he said.

Bergeron was released on personal recognizance and will next appear in court Aug. 25.