SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A protest was held on Wednesday along Van Dyke near the Shelby Township offices to call attention to comments posted on social media by Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide and trustee John Vermeulen.
Shelide has apologized and will go 30 days without pay and he will have to go to cultural and sensitivity training. He will be back on the job on July 17.
READ: Shelby Township trustees vote to suspend police chief after anti-protest tweets
Shortly after the protest began, another group of protesters with a different message joined them. That led to a few face-to-face confrontations.
Protesters calling for the firing of Shelide almost immediately saw signs and flags flying that they weren’t expecting.
A small group of self-described supporters of police and president Donald Trump tried to quietly upstage the 70 or so protesters, but were met with outrage.
Eventually, the groups settled on opposite sides of Van Dyke, campaigning for the support of passing cars.