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‘Bachelorette’ Alum Garrett Yrigoyen Shows Support for Police Amid Protests: ‘They’re Still Humans’

The Bachelorette alum Garrett Yrigoyen showed support for police amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.

Related: Stars Demand Justice After George Floyd’s Death

“I’ve been pretty tore up the past week about everything going on. I’ve listened, learned, helped, supported, and grown. With so many friends and family in law enforcement I couldn’t sit back and not support them and the hundreds of thousands of men and women of all races that represent this Thin Blue Line as well,” Yrigoyen, 31, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, June 4.

“It’s important for me to recognize the ones who stand in the gap and put their lives on the line each and every single day for humans of different race and ethnicity, including those who hate them. The Thin Blue Line represents each officer protecting protestors, properties, and businesses while being threatened, attacked, shot, shot at, hit with vehicles, and other forms of brutality,” he continued. “There have been over 300 injured, shot, or killed in just one week. They are suffering the consequences over an act they didn’t commit. They continue to put in overtime away from their families, stay silent while being threatened, hated, and assaulted.”

Garrett Yrigoyen Shows Support for Police Amid Protests
Garrett Yrigoyen Gustavo Caballero/South Beach Photo/Shutterstock

Related: How Celebrity Parents Are Educating Their Kids About Racism

The former reality star, who got engaged to Bachelorette Becca Kufrin in 2018, advised his 700,000-plus Instagram followers not to “judge an entire group of people by the actions of a few.”

“We can’t judge the peaceful protesters by the actions of the few violent protesters, and we sure can’t judge all cops by the actions of a few bad ones,” he wrote. “Remember when they put on the badge they’re still humans, with raw emotion, the more brutality they face the more on edge they become, they make mistakes, they have compassion, and no matter how terrible they are treated or whatever negative is said to them, they still show up for us when we need them!”

Yrigoyen — who made headlines in 2018 for “liking” insensitive Instagram posts — concluded, “Remember these men and women who hold this Thin Blue Line; strangers, friends, family, neighbors, or your enemies. They will always be out there protecting us, no matter what! #thinblueline #antiracism #antibrutality.”

Two days earlier, the former medical sales representative participated in “Blackout Tuesday,” the Instagram initiative that encouraged users to step away from social media for a day and focus on educating themselves on the Black Lives Matter movement. “Blackout Tuesday” was also held in honor of Floyd, who died at age 46 on May 25 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed a knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes, leaving him unable to breathe.

Related: Stars Donate to Bail Out Protestors

In the comments section of Yrigoyen’s post on Thursday, several Instagram users wrote that he was “totally missing the point” of the recent protests, while others tagged members of Bachelor Nation to hear their thoughts. Mike Johnson, who competed on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette in 2019, responded by writing in part, “As a veteran I truly sympathize for those wearing the uniforms that symbolises [sic] protecting us yet some of their brothers/sisters in arms have made it a difficult/dangerous time for all involved.”

For her part, Kufrin, 30, took to her Instagram Stories later on Thursday to announce that she and Rachel Lindsay plan to “discuss our country’s current state, viewpoints, and how we can all move forward to implement change” on their podcast, “Bachelor Happy Hour,” on Friday, June 5.

For more information, visit Blacklivesmatter.com.

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