CAIRO — About 400 people marched down Main Street in Cairo on Sunday afternoon to show their support for law enforcement.
The Back the Blue rally brought men and women from the Capital Region to the Mid-Hudson Valley and to Cairo, said organizers Heather Bier of Cornwallville and Monica Kenny-Keff of Cairo.
“This needed to happen, the morale at police departments is at an all time low,” Bier said. “We wanted to remind them that people here respect what they do.”
The marchers gathered at the Hannaford Plaza before heading down Main Street at about 2:15 p.m. to the Cairo firehouse.
The march included cars and trucks, golf carts and ATVs, an antique Army vehicle, Windham ambulance and a horse.
Following the march, which lasted about 20 minutes, various elected officials spoke to the crowd, including Assemblyman Chris Tague, R-102, Greene County Sheriff Pete Kusminsky, Richard Amedure, who is running for the seat in the 46th state Senate District, and Kyle Van de Water, who is running on the Republican ticket in the 19th congressional district.
During the ceremony, Monica Kenny-Keff and her husband, Chris Keff, presented a Blue Line Old Glory flag to Kusminsky and Capt. Tracey Quinn of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
“Today went absolutely perfect. There were so many more than we imagined would attend. We were all united behind our police and were passionate, yet peaceful,” Kenny-Keff said.
She has family members in law enforcement.
“I am so blown away at the response; we were expecting a few dozen people,” Bier said. Her daughter plans to enter the law enforcement field.
The rally was promoted on social media, on flyers and by word of mouth, Bier said.
Security and traffic control were provided by Cairo Police, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and state police. Main Street was closed between the Hannaford Plaza and Railroad Avenue during the march.