Wake Forest defends rooftop police presence at Friday Night on White

Wake Forest officials defended placing officers atop downtown buildings with long guns during Friday Night on White concerts to manage large crowds (attendance 3,000–10,000). After a local business complained about safety, the town reiterated that rooftop policing is used for crowd control and that officers on rooftops are deployed with rifles that do not fire pepper balls, with the town later stating the rifles fire live bullets. The event runs the second Friday of each month (April–September) and organizers say changes have been made in response to feedback, including increased police presence and a business hotline; officials plan further discussions with downtown businesses to support the event while addressing safety concerns.