More than 300 people gathered in Adams Corner last week in a rally held to begin the new year with a show of support for local police officers. The Citizens on Patrol group, along with Pope's Hill and Cedar Grove neighborhood associations, organized the stand-out, which took place on New Year’s Day from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and drew residents toting children, officers, and elected officials. Many carried signs saying, “We support the Boston Police” and “Honk if you love BPD!”

“We thought that it was an appropriate time to start the new year in a very positive fashion and give C-11 a shot in the arm,” said Charlie Maneikis, a founding Citizens on Patrol member, referring to the Boston police district that covers much of Dorchester. “We appreciate everything that they’ve done.”

Organizers were careful to note that they were not disparaging any anti-police protests, one of which took place the night before during Boston’s annual First Night celebrations. “We respect everyone’s right to do that,” Maneikis said.

For their part, police were thankful and said so on a memo posted on the Police Department website shortly after the rally: “To all those who organized and attended today’s pro-police rally in Dorchester, the men and women of the Boston Police Department can’t thank you enough.”

Maneikis said that during the rally, organizers set up poster boards inside the Old Dorchester Post for children to write messages for police officers that were dropped off at C-11 headquarters the next day. “We got a really nice note from Captain Sexton afterward,” Maneikis said. Sexton, the C-11 captain, said, “all the officers were talking about the rally all day and how good it made them feel.”

“This is how we do things in Boston,” said Boston Police Chief William Gross, in a statement on Jan. 1. “We support our community and the community supports us. It’s called community policing and we take great pride in the relationship and partnership that exists between the people of this community and our police department. But, to see this kind of support means a lot to our officers and we're certainly grateful for it.”

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