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'The tensions are very high' | 'Mama Rose' among four arrested at Jefferson Square Park

Police said people were playing basketball in the street near the park and confronted officers when asked to clear the street.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two officers were hurt, and four people have been arrested after an incident near Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville.

A Metro Police spokesperson said around 4 p.m. Monday, officers tried to move people playing basketball and blocking traffic on Liberty between Fifth and Sixth Streets.

"Whenever a group of protesters and LMPD get together, the tensions are very high, there's a lot of trauma involved," said 502 Live Streamer, Tara Bassett, who was recording the entire incident.

Officers can be heard telling the traveling "Hoopbus" driver that he didn't "have a permit to block a lane of traffic to play basketball" and suggested he move the bus with a basketball hoop on it to a parking lot nearby. 

That's when frustrations grow. The livestream shows the group yelling at officers, and then police pushing through the crowd to make the arrests. 

Police said while officers were arresting one person, several others interfered. One of those people was Rosie Henderson, who many at the square consider a keeper of the park and call 'Mama Rose.'

"I know that she has been a huge advocate for justice and for peace, and she also constantly admonishes people at the square to follow the rules and to not break the law," said Bassett, who has seen Henderson at Jefferson Square Park every day for the last 137 days.

In the livestream, Henderson is heard asking officers why they are arresting people. 

The arrest report said an officer grabbed her by the arm to stop her from approaching other officers, and that she pulled back, and punched an officer in the nose.

The live stream shows officers putting their hands over her mouth, and putting her on the ground, before putting her in the back of an LMPD cruiser.

Her attorney, David Mour, said she was released from Metro Corrections early Tuesday morning and then went to the doctor. 

"Her shoulder and arm she feels are injured when she was tackled to the ground by some men."

Two officers suffered minor injuries. The livestream shows at least one getting hit in the head by a man at the park. Police confirm both officers returned to work on Tuesday. 

"There's always going to be a sense of conflict and anxiety when the two sides meet, and I suggested yesterday that we could possibly come up with some sort of de-escalation passcode to stop it before it starts because that's really the only way we're going to make any kind of progress," said Bassett. 

Within an hour of the incident, acting LMPD Police Chief Yvette Gentry was at the square, talking to those upset by what had happened.

"We're not focused," she said. "When my clock is ticking, I don't want to be coming over here arguing about basketball rims when you can't have basketball at the park because of COVID right now, that's just a battle that I ain't got time to fight," she explained. 

She talked to protesters about the balance of police presence.

"When I tell them, 'I don't want you just being here so people can see you,' and then the next thing I hear is 'they got us in a kill box, they're not coming to help us.'"

"I had 127 murders in the city. I have defense lawyers tracking me down and saying 'all you care about is them and my clients are being assassinated on the damn highway because you're not paying attention to nothing else," she said.   

"I have high hopes for her, I'm willing to give her a chance, but I gotta see a lot more than I did yesterday," said Mour.

Police took four people into custody on charges including assault, harassment with physical contact and resisting arrest.

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