Showing support: Crowds gathered at Frankford and Cottman avenues on Sunday afternoon to show their support for police. The Philly Cops Rock pep rally was the second of its kind in less than a month at the Mayfair intersection. PHOTO: PHILIP FORREST
Hundreds of flag-wavers, motorcycle riders, vendors and spectators turned Mayfair’s signature intersection into a pro-police pep rally for the second time in less than a month as Philly Cops Rock occupied Cottman and Frankford for four hours on Sunday afternoon.
The event was a reprisal of a July 13 rally at the same location that also attracted several hundred people, including many off-duty and retired cops and their families. The earlier gathering was described at the time as a spontaneous activity, organized a few days in advance in response to the fatal shooting of police in Dallas, Texas, six days earlier.
Conversely, Sunday’s gathering had been in planning at least since July 10, when organizers created a Facebook event page to promote it. Initially, their stated goal was to invite 100,000 people via the social media platform. About 10,000 invitations were sent via Facebook, with about 3,000 responding that they planned to attend or were interested.
Retired police officer Donna DiDonato delivered one of the keynote speeches on Sunday, echoing her comments from the earlier gathering praising the sacrifices of police and their families while condemning popular anti-police rhetoric. Elizabeth Boyle, the mother of slain Officer Daniel Boyle, spoke first-hand about the impact of violence against police.
Vendors sold T-shirts, “thin blue line” flags, pizza and other items, while organizers collected cash donations. Proceeds were to be donated to the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 Survivors Fund, which benefits the families of slain officers, organizers said. ••
