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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Ben and Julie Calma of Hoover, Alabama, participated in Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Shannon Bush, center in the hat, gives instructions to people who participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Ben and Julie Calma were among 15 to 20 vehicles that participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Fifteen to 20 vehicles participated in a Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade along U.S. 31 and John Hawkins Parkway on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.
Fifteen to 20 vehicles paraded down U.S. 31 and Alabama 150 in Hoover Saturday afternoon with flags waving to show support for law enforcement and other first responders in the city.
The Hoover Police/First Responders Appreciation Parade was organized by a group called the Hoover Patriots that formed this year in response to all the protests against police.
The vehicles met in the parking lot at Bancorp South near Interstate 65 and at 1 p.m. paraded down U.S. 31 to John Hawkins Parkway (Alabama 150) and followed that road to The Grove shopping center. Hoover police gave them green traffic signals along U.S. 31 to keep the convoy moving.
Shannon Bush, a Hoover native who now lives in Pelham and who organized today’s parade, said people in the group, which has 1,100 members noted on Facebook, have been asking for a long time about holding an event to show support for the men and women in blue.
Some wanted to hold pro-police rallies near Hoover City Hall at the same time that protesters were convening there, but Hoover police advised them not to do that out of concern that it would cause more problems for police than be helpful, Bush said.
Another idea was for a family day at Veterans Park with food trucks and a band, but that idea is being pushed until the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
The Hoover Patriots group had 300 “Hoover Strong” T-shirts made and sold with the “thin blue line” flag on them. The flag is similar to the U.S. flag but has black stripes instead of red ones and a blue line just below the stars, representing law enforcement officers who stand between law-abiding citizens and others who intend chaos and destruction.
A separate group that supports the Hoover Police Department called Hoover Cop Stop had yard signs made to show appreciation and has been giving them to residents around town.
Bush said the Hoover Patriots didn’t widely publicize the parade ahead of time because they didn’t want to tip off protesters.
Charlie Stafford, a resident of the Lake Wilborn community, was among those in the parade today. His son is a Birmingham police officer who, a year ago, was shot eight times. Stafford said he came to the parade because of the anti-police sentiment that seems to have become more prevalent in society recently.
“I feel like they’re treated like second-class citizens,” Stafford said. “They’re put in a position where they can’t really do their jobs without fear of being accused of things they aren’t guilty of … We feel like we need to show they have great support.”
Ben and Julie Calma, who live off Caldwell Mill Road, said yes, there are some bad police officers, but it doesn’t mean all of them are bad. There are some bad people in every profession, Julie Calma said.
People need to remember that “these guys are fighting every night, every day. They may or may not come home,” she said.
The Calmas flew both U.S. and Israeli flags on their car in the parade and wore attire promoting Donald Trump. Julie Calma said she wanted to, in a peaceful and non-violent way, stand up for freedom and free speech that has been censored by social media companies as Facebook and Twitter.
“I respect whatever you want to say about your candidate,” she said. “I demand the same for mine.”
Editor's note: This article was updated at 10:58 p.m. to correct a statement regarding the yard signs from Hoover Cop Stop. They were given away, not sold.
