Warminster George Floyd Protest Canceled: Organizer

WARMINSTER, PA — A man who had planned a Warminster protest against police violence and the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has called off those plans.

Michael Shields, the owner of Shields Family Trucking in Warminster, called for the cancelation after meeting with Warminster Police Chief James Donnelly.

In a Facebook post, Shields said he had a great conversation with Donnelly.

"He hears the cries and concerns of all of us," Shields wrote. "I will meet with the chief and the conversation with be uploaded to Facebook either later this evening or sometime tomorrow. I want everyone to know that the chief stands by us."

Shields also mentioned the possible disruption of Tuesday's primary elections if a demonstration were held Tuesday evening. He said a "peaceful meeting" of some sort would be scheduled for a later date.

"Our community needs work. The world we live in needs work," he wrote. "I promise that I’ll continue to be the voice for our community. I will continue to speak up and I will speak out."

Warminster Township Police shared Shields' post on social media.

"We are glad we can peacefully sit down and discuss the outrageous and unlawful events in order to better work together to promote racial equality," police said in a post.

According to a message that was circulating on social media, protesters planned to march from the intersection of Henry Avenue and York Road to the Warminster Township Police station. The rally was planned for 6 p.m. on Tuesday and was to be a peaceful one, the message said.

It urged those who attended to wear a mask and said the event would have been done by 7:30 p.m.

"The right to assemble, to protest, to voice your concerns to your government is a founding principle of our country," Warminster Township Manager Gregg Schuster said in a post earlier Monday. "And it’s reasonable for citizens to ask questions about how we will prevent what has occurred in Minneapolis from happening here. We welcome that dialogue and hope that any discussion ends with learning occurring for all involved."

In the post, Schuster condemned the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, 46, died Monday after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes while three other officers looked on.

Video footage of the arrest, in which Floyd is heard saying "I can't breathe," spread widely online, and all four officers were fired. Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Friday.

His death has spurred mass protests against police brutality across the nation. Many gatherings have remained peaceful, while others have devolved into looting, vandalism and other crimes.