COEUR d’ALENE — Eric Mescher retired after 40 years as a law enforcement officer. So when he hears and sees that law officers are being chastised, that people are calling for police to be defunded, “it hurts. It hurts here,” he said Saturday, tapping his chest.

Mescher was one of the first to show up for the “Back the Blue” rally at Appleway Avenue and Ramsey Road on Saturday afternoon in Coeur d’Alene.

The group quickly grew from a handful to about 35 in a matter of minutes. Passing drivers honked their horns at those waving flags and signs from the sidewalk.

“Anytime I can back blue, anytime I can back my brothers, I do it,” Mescher said. “I do it.”

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger stopped by and chatted with Mescher and others for a time.

“I just came to say thanks. Thanks for showing support for our guys,” he said.

Terry Alling, who served in the military and with the police, organized the rally.

“I figured somebody had to do it,” he said.

“Well, we appreciate it,” Wolfinger said.

Alling said with police being roundly criticized around the country, it was time to stand up for them. He met with business owners and leaders in law enforcement to let them know of his plans and found “overwhelming support.”

They were out there about four hours, from noon to 4.

“We know there’s a lot of support of our police but sometimes few want to show it,” he said.

Alling is today a real estate agent. His business card, on one side, reads “Sheepdogs Real Estate Squad,” with the word “Police, Fire and Military,” listed.

“I’m here to help them relocate here,” he said.

He said he has waved a flag every year on Sept. 11 since the attacks in 2001.

It’s just about supporting those he considers heroes in this country, Alling said.

“It’s for them,” he said.

His son, RJ Alling, 14, stood with his friend Keanu Kanekoa visiting from Maui. Both held flags.

“I thinks we should end police brutality,” RJ Alling said.

But he doesn’t agree that the wrong actions of some officers mean all officers are bad and he doesn’t think police officers should be targeted as they are today.

That’s like saying if there are bad firefighters, all firefighters are bad.

“Sometimes, I’m like, ‘Why would you say that?’ It just doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “I know my dad. If you met my dad, he’s a great person and he was a cop.”

Kanekoa said, “Some cops are being mean to people of color” and that must end. But he is not against police.

“I’m just really out here to support the police because not all cops are bad,” he said.

Mescher, who works in security today, served with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, city of Coeur d’Alene, the Idaho State Police and the Department of Homeland Security.

“What’s going on with law enforcement today is not right,” he said.

He said the vast majority of law officers are dedicated, professional and work hard to protect people. So when he sees young protesters shouting insults at them and making obscene gestures, he gets upset.

“They don’t understand. They don’t understand what they’re doing,” he said.

A veteran once thanked Mescher for his service, saying police worked 365 days a year because they can be called into action at any time.

“That really kind of struck home with me,” Mescher said. “As a law enforcement officer, we don’t have a day off.”