The third strike came when Erickson forgot to put on his body camera when responding to a physical altercation. He said that call came in 20 minutes prior to the end of his shift and he had already removed it for the day as he wrapped up paperwork. Erickson said the department had recently obtained the cameras and he had no formal training on them, and that he didn't think to grab his camera as he responded to the call.

"Yes, I have been disciplined back in January for a similar situation," he said. "They had just issued a bunch of new policies."

Erickson has been an officer in East Helena for nearly 14 years and was a reserve officer before that. He said the police chief was replaced four times in the last year and a half. Keeping up with all of the policy changes is hard for someone set in their ways, Erickson said.

"What they won't tell you is that they wrote up the other officers for the same things," Erickson said.

The show of support from the community surprised Erickson. He said his goal wasn't to be a disgruntled former employee, but to see positive change occur in the police department.

"You don't often see this kind of support for law enforcement," Erickson said. "East Helena is my family and my family is East Helena."