COLUMBUS, Ohio — “The concern you have is what is the unknown, “said Gary Sirgist.
That fear of the unknown is being felt by many who will stand on the grounds of the Statehouse to protect the building and the people of Columbus.
Sirgist is with Safeguard Risk Solutions. He told 10TV he’s no stranger to this feeling.
Last summer, he served as an officer in the George Floyd protests in Columbus.
In training, they’d go through hours on top of hours of training for situations like this, but nothing can really prepare you for what could happen in the moment.
“You need to control your emotions. People are going to do, say anything to try to get as close to you as they can because they want our emotions to cause and action that we will regret,” said Sigrist.
And that’s what officers must keep in the back of their minds; the crowd size and the intentions of demonstrators.
Right now, the Statehouse is boarded and locked with fences. Hundreds of officers, troopers and guards are expected to be on the ground this weekend.
“We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we certainly don’t want anything bad to happen to the people who are there exercising their right. But in this case here, we have to prepare for the worst,” said Sigrist.
He said officers must keep in mind everything they do will be seen. Nobody wants to see anything horrible happen this weekend.
“If you talk to any law enforcement officer and you ask them at the start of their shift, what is it that you want to accomplish today, it’s, I want to go home at the end of my shift, I don’t want to have to harm anybody I don’t want anybody to have to harm me,” said Sigrist.