PEARLAND – Months after George Floyd was laid to rest in Pearland, law enforcement agencies have released its detailed plan and law enforcement presence during the procession.
According to documents obtained by the ACLU and shared with KPRC 2, in addition to Pearland police, there were also DPS troopers, several other agencies involved and at least a half a dozen snipers station in certain spots.
The documents also outlined an incident action plan that included the authorization of deadly force.
“The authorization to use deadly force did not change from our daily operations. The use of deadly force is justified for an officer to stop an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury upon the officer or an innocent third person," wrote the Pearland Police Department in a statement.
Still, some were upset by the specifics of the plans and large turn-out by law enforcement.
Ashton P. Woods, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston said: “This day was to honor the memory of George Floyd.”
Woods said he believes the details of the law-enforcement presence and plans went overboard.
“Do what you need to do to protect the people, but this was a full militarized response. There is no way of getting around this,” he said.
Pearland police argue the plans met the moment.
“Large-scale events obviously take additional resources and preparation. Even so, this was an even more unusual large scale event, especially for a city the size of Pearland, given its national attention and potential threats,” the department said in the statement.
The NAACP of Brazoria County also reacted to details outlined in the documents.
“In this situation, we also have to understand they were anticipating 60,000 extra people to come to a city that is 60,000 strong,” said Eugene Howard, the President of the NAACP of Brazoria County. “We’ve seen other forces that oppose the message and meaning of his death and what’s happened since then could’ve used that venue as a place to express themselves."