Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said she is considering pardons for peaceful protesters who were charged with breaking curfew.

She spoke Friday during a community listening session on Zoom along with Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister and City Councilwoman Sändra Washington. 

Lincoln residents were given three minutes each to speak or ask questions, and the panel paused at times to reflect and answer. While speakers occasionally became heated, their remarks were mostly respectful. 

Gaylor Baird said her administration is working with the city's law department to explore pardons for peaceful protesters but not for those who were documented committing violence or destroying property. 

City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick, reached after the listening session, said between 70-80 people were arrested for misdemeanor curfew violations. He was unsure how many were ultimately charged.

He said the mayor can pardon anyone who violates city code, but those people have to first plead guilty or be found guilty. He also said mayors typically wait to ensure there is not a pattern of behavior before they issue pardons. 

Mayoral pardons have been used in the past, Kirkpatrick said, including after the 2012 lawn-watering restrictions. 

Many of the curfew violators have already plead guilty, he said, and some have probably already paid their fines. Kirkpatrick said a pardon serves primarily to clear someone's criminal record. 

City officials said 85 people took part in the Zoom call. Residents spoke about a variety of issues, including school resource officers, whether the city should pay for the medical bills of injured protesters, external investigations into the police department and removing the police substation at the F Street Community Center. 

Bliemeister defended the station, saying it was vital that LPD's efforts remain entwined with the community. 

He said the substation "has a critical and crucial role to community policing." 

Community members also asked for city funds to be reallocated away from the police department. They also don't want the police to be the first responders for mental health calls.

Bliemeister said he hopes a better system for those calls can be found.

On the topic of curfews, both Gaylor Baird and Bliemeister said the purpose was to control the crowd after two nights of violence and vandalism, not to stifle the protesters' voices.

The mayor said she hoped the curfew, implemented on May 31 and June 1, could bridge free expression and safety, but she didn't foresee the negative response. 

"I didn't fully comprehend the reaction to the curfew and the way it could foster mistrust," she said.

Participants in the listening session also asked about law enforcement's response to the protests, which included the use of tear gas and rubber bullets.

Jenny Tyner, a protester who was arrested and taken to jail, said she didn't believe the use of force was a proportional response.

"I watched the police escalate the situation with my own two eyes," she said. 

Gaylor Baird said she understood Friday's listening session was only an early step, but she said it was vital for her to hear the community's concerns firsthand.

"Now is a time for us to listen," she said, "listening that leads to understanding, then action." 

However, some callers grew frustrated in the Zoom chat as the meeting continued because they believed the panel was not answering direct questions and had not enacted change.

"At the end of the day," Kerian Wilson said, "if you're not doing anything, you're not listening." 

Photos, videos: Protests in Lincoln