Pro-police rally draws hundreds in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of demonstrators marched in support of police officers in the nation's capital on Saturday.

The three women who organized the event are all wives of local police officers who said they've had enough of negativity aimed at law enforcement.

Organizer Bobbie Padgett told CBS radio station WTOP-FM that the march and rally was an opportunity to thank police for their service.

"Thank you for protecting me and thank you for being out there. That's what this is all about," said Padgett.

Kelly Wince, whose husband works for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, told The Washington Times that officers' morale is low amid anti-police rhetoric in the wake of the high-profile deaths of unarmed black suspects by officers in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City.

Wince also said many officers have had to work extra shifts to cover the ensuing protests of those shootings.

Padgett told WTOP the rally wasn't a counter-protest to the Ferguson demonstrations, but rather about showing police officers they are appreciated.