A small Ohio municipality has apologized for not publicly responding to neo-Nazi demonstrators, some holding flags with swastikas, who marched in town recently, and ordered an independent review of how police handled the matter.
Residents had urged officials in Evendale, a suburb of Cincinnati, to explain what prompted the protest and why no one was arrested in the Feb. 7 incident that ended when a group of Black residents confronted the marchers and burned their flags, NBC reports.
“We apologize about not meeting or speaking to you sooner about the problems,” Mayor Richard Finan said in a Monday news conference, adding that officials wanted to determine what transpired before addressing the public.
Black leaders and residents in the Cincinnati metro area said they were frustrated that the demonstrators were allowed to march at all and requested an investigation into the response by Evendale police and Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies.
Evendale police have said no laws were broken and officers were obligated to protect the demonstrators' First Amendment right to free speech.
