Police not amused by incoming Erie councilman's bricks-and-stones Bayfront Parkway protest

Erie City Councilman-elect Chuck Nelson sought to highlight the danger of vehicles speeding through the pedestrian crosswalk at the Bayfront Parkway and Cranberry Street.

So on Wednesday afternoon, Nelson placed a small pile of bricks and rocks at the intersection, just south of the parkway along Cranberry Street, with a sign he printed himself.

"Pedestrians, Bricks and Stones available for your protection," the sign read. He then posted a video to Facebook from the intersection.

Nelson called the action "a joke intended to make a point" about excessive speed and the need for safer pedestrian crossings along the parkway. 

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There was no intent, Nelson said, to encourage pedestrians to hurl objects at vehicles, and Nelson removed the display and sign after roughly two hours.

Erie police, though, were not laughing.

“Yes, we were notified about the post, and we were very concerned,” Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said. 

Spizarny said Nelson’s move, as well as a related video that Nelson posted to Facebook Wednesday afternoon, “encouraged people to wield bricks and rocks at passing motorists. That could escalate into an extremely dangerous situation.”

Nelson, 37, was one of three new Democrats elected to Erie City Council in the Nov. 2 municipal general election. He will take office in January.

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Nelson ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2019 and lives on the city's west bayfront. He is a pastor whose ministry, The Cross, serves some of the poorest areas of the city of Erie. 

Nelson said he placed the bricks and stones, which he randomly collected, at the intersection around 3 p.m. Wednesday.  

He then shot a video on his phone, from the intersection, which was posted live to Facebook as traffic whizzed by.

In that video, Nelson states: “You now have bricks and rocks that you can hold in your hands and wield around, so that at least cars are afraid of you, instead of you being afraid of cars.”

Asked if he was concerned that some citizens would take him seriously and begin pelting vehicles with rocks/bricks — which is against the law — Nelson said: “The kind of people who would take this the wrong way, I don’t expect them to be walking along this route. There are all types of people living in that neighborhood who are mature and just want to cross the street safely, and they aren’t interested in throwing rocks."

Nelson added that he also sought to draw attention to the issue, and to encourage people to sign a change.org petition for a new three-way stop light at that intersection.

As of Thursday morning, 70 people had signed that petition; the goal is 100 signatures.

Nelson removed the display from the intersection shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday after several people reached out to him with concerns about the video. 

Nelson did not specify who those people were. He did say, though, that police did not contact him directly about the display or his Facebook video. 

“I never intended to leave it here long,” Nelson said. “I was trying to make a point. It’s not safe for pedestrians in our city.”

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.