Rally to support for northwestern Indiana police planned

GARY, Ind. (AP) – Residents of Gary are planning a rally to show support for police officers in northwest Indiana.

Twenty-one-year-old Alicia Waddell tells the Post-Tribune of Merrillville she decided to organize the rally Saturday to give the officers a boost after a wave of anti-police sentiment that has swept across the nation in the wake of police killings of unarmed blacks.

Waddell has arranged food for the rally and plans to give away 400 blue light bulbs for people to use on their front porches to show they are pro-police.

A memorial balloon release is planned, with blue balloons for officers killed on duty. Two silver balloons will be among the mix, representing the on-duty deaths of Gary Patrolman Jeff Westerfield and Merrillville Patrolman Nick Schultz. Both were killed last year.