Meaghan M. McDermott, and David Riley

Democrat and Chronicle

Overtime costs for Rochester Police service during last weekend's Black Lives Matter rally exceeded $47,000.

According to Investigator Frank Camp, police department spokesman, officers worked about 825 additional hours during the protest, resulting in a cost of $47,648.24.

The calculation does not include fringe benefits or any other expenses, Camp said in an email. The numbers also reflect only costs for Rochester Police, not for any other area departments that provided backup coverage.

Mayor Lovely Warren said the number wasn't so astronomical that it caught her by surprise.

"It was a difficult situation last week — a difficult situation for all parties concerned," she said.

Officers wearing partial riot gear arrested more than 70 people last Fridayafter protesters refused to leave the area of East Avenue and Alexander Street, hours after a peaceful rally and march began at the Liberty Pole. At the time, that was more arrests than those that had happened at similar BLM rallies nationwide combined.

Charges lodged against protesters included resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Police and protesters had differing accounts of how the arrests were handled.

Following the arrests, Warren and Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli said some things could have been handled differently at the protest.

Accounts of the arrests have differed, with protesters saying members of Building Leadership and Community Knowledge, or B.L.A.C.K., have asked the city to be more transparent about reported use of force during the protests.

In an interview Friday, Warren said she and Ciminelli met with B.L.A.C.K. organizers Thursday to hear their concerns and try to answer questions. Warren said the city has worked hard to try to improve relations between police officers and communities of color, both of whom want to be judged as individuals.

But events elsewhere sometimes set back that process, she said.

"It's as if somebody has pulled the stitches out and poured salt into the wound," Warren said. "And all the effort that has been made — now you have to start back over again."

The city is working to improve the lines of communication, the mayor said.

"We recognize that some damage was done on Saturday," Warren said. "We have to try to repair that damage."

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com

DRILEY@Gannett.com

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