A Second Amendment advocate says he and “several” associates will be in downtown Green Bay this weekend in response to a physically violent arrest that occurred last week.
The activists say they will openly carry guns around closing time for bars on Saturday night and early Sunday morning around Washington Street, downtown Green Bay’s nightclub and bar district. The action comes in response to a viral video that showed a city police officer pushing a man to the ground after a disturbance outside a club last weekend.
Police say they are aware of the plans but won’t say whether or not they plan to step up surveillance in the area this weekend.
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“The venue you’re choosing, now you couple that with a number of different people drinking, high levels of intoxication — that’s just not the best venue for that,” said Lieutenant Chad Ramos, a police spokesman. “But should they choose that, we just ask that they bear in mind where they are and that they do things accordingly.”
It is legal to openly carry a licensed weapon in Wisconsin. Private businesses can choose to ban them from their premises.
In regard to last weekend’s arrest, Ramos says it is under investigation. “Right now it’s going through our internal affairs process for complaints on officers’ conduct,” said Ramos. “So we’re interviewing witnesses and going through video footage and making sure we can see the entire incident from all the angles as opposed to just one.”
Ramos declined to say if the officer under investigation is still on the beat.
You can watch the video of the arrest below:
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