GAINESVILLE — Nearly two hours of discussion at a community meeting on racial profiling came to an end when a white man with a backpack made his way to the front of the fellowship hall at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Summit Street.
When the man stood to ask a panel of community and police leaders if he "looked out of place," the meeting agenda was abandoned as several officers stood up as if prepared to confront the man.
Coordinators of the meeting denied knowing the man, although he posed his question to the panel during comments from Criminal Justice Reform Project Director Quintus Harrison about a recent shooting rampage in Charleston, S.C., where a young white man killed nine worshippers at a historically black church.
Rose Johnson with the Newtown Florist Club, the sponsoring group behind the community meeting, said she did not know the man,
The man, who appeared to be in his 50s, wore a ball cap and a blue t-shirt and jeans.
Asked by AccessWDUN for his name, the man refused to answer. When asked by reporters about his motivation for bringing the backpack to the meeting, he asked that all recording equipment be turned off.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Two city officials, who asked that their names not be released, identified the man as Mike Parker of Flowery Branch. Ashley Bell, WDUN Morning Talk co-host, said on the air Friday that Parker was well-known in political circles. Bell said when he was a member of the Hall County Commission, he had dealings with Parker on several occasions.
