46-year-old George Floyd.
As the country continues to deal with the fallout and implications associated with the death of 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, multiple local law enforcement agencies and elected officials have issued statements expressing their outrage and condemning the actions of the officers involved.
On Friday afternoon, Lansdale Borough Police Chief Michael Trail issued a public statement condemning Floyd’s death, and in the hours and days that followed, the Police Chiefs Associate of Montgomery County, as well as many local law enforcement agencies issued similar statements to address the incident and issue.
A sampling of those statements can be found below.
Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County:
The Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County would like to express our heartfelt sympathies to the family of Mr. George Floyd. Just like each of you, we witnessed the video of Mr. Floyd’s death and were appalled by what we saw. Police brutality, callousness, and failure to render aid are unacceptable in Montgomery County Law Enforcement. As an organization, we are committed to providing our members with the guidance to help establish rigorous officer selection processes, on-going use of force and de-escalation training, state and/or international accreditation, strict professional standards and citizens’ complaint processes. This guidance is provided to help all of our departments to achieve the highest level of professionalism.
While some may look at this video and believe that nothing has changed in policing, much has changed in Montgomery County. Over the past several years our police departments have gone to great lengths to engage with the communities we serve. These engagements are not merely public relations events, but meaningful and productive dialog with community members, community leaders, clergy and groups dealing with different forms of racial injustice. Many of our Chiefs are board members in these groups and work diligently to reduce inequality in any form in our county. In February of this year, our Executive Board met with the leaders of the Montgomery County Chapters of the NAACP to continue to improve the relationships between the police and the communities we serve. We have also taken a strong stand against inappropriate conduct committed by officers and have made the sanctity of human life a guiding principle in our agencies.
As an association we join with you in your disgust of what you saw in that video, but we ask you to not let this incident destroy the progress that we have made here in Montgomery County. We ask you to keep working with us to keep injustice and violence from our county. As we all mourn the loss of Mr. Floyd, let us come together and continue to communicate so that we can keep fighting against racial injustice and make Montgomery County safe for all persons. The police officers in Montgomery County take an oath to serve and protect all of our citizens, and to never discriminate based on a person’s race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Our officers have continuously shown that they are compassionate and caring individuals who are willing to sacrifice their safety for their fellow citizens.
Towamencin Township Police Department:
As a member of the Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County, I stand with my fellow police chiefs in the county and personally feel disgust and frustration for the acts in Minneapolis resulting in the death of Mr. George Floyd. The despicable actions of a few do not represent what we, in Montgomery County Law Enforcement, and specifically, the Towamencin Township Police Department, believe in or stand for.
I cannot adequately express how completely horrible your police officers feel about this. Everyone I have had an opportunity to speak with about this share in the disgust and cannot fathom the grief the Floyd family must bear. As the association’s statement reflects, we have worked very hard to enhance our relationships with all people, and we recognize that this incident will likely impede some of the progress we have made.
On behalf of all the police officers of the Towamencin Township Police Department, I assure the community we will continue the work to build trust with you, listen to those we serve, and reinforce with each other our duty to protect and provide equal protection under the law.
Chief Tim Dickinson
Hatfield Township Police Department:
To those who live and work in the Hatfield community,
Please read the message from the Montgomery County Police Chiefs Association. This is a collective message from every chief in the county. It speaks volumes as to where we are on the issue involving Mr. Floyd and the events leading up to his tragic death.
Much work has been done, and there is much more yet to do. We have to ensure these events no longer take place in our society. If and when it does, we must be at the ready to call out the perpetrator, even if they wear a uniform. This ideal is shared throughout the county and the Hatfield Police Department, and its fine officers stand behind that ideal.
Our vow is to see to it that Mr. Floyd and all the others who have gone before him have not given their lives in vain.
Chief Tierney
Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department:
The officers that make up the Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department would like the Floyd family to know that we share their disgust over the events that lead to his death.
For anyone who has interacted with our department or follows any of our social media accounts we hope to have adequately conveyed the value we place on our community relations with everyone we serve, in whatever form that may take. We take nothing for granted and have worked diligently to continually build upon those relationships. It is because of those community bonds that we feel compelled and obligated to speak out against this terrible and utterly unnecessary death.
The officers who serve you in Upper Gwynedd Township have sworn an oath to:
"Solemnly swear that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Ordinances of Upper Gwynedd Township against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and enforce the law without consideration to a person’s race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, nationality, ancestry, handicap, or disability..."
This oath is more than just a collection of words; it is the guiding principal by which we do our jobs every day. But our commitment to fairness, integrity and ethical conduct doesn't stop there. Our mission statement, core values and code of ethics all demand nothing less than a total commitment to do what is right, fair and just at all times.
We have sworn to these words, and promised to you, that we will provide you our very best and during these terrible days, we reaffirm our commitment to you whom we serve and to whom we are accountable.
Montgomery Township Police Department:
The Montgomery Township Police Department did not provide any additional comment or statement, but shared the joint-statement from the Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County and said their views were reflected within the statement.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office:
I am glad the county attorney has charged Derek Chauvin. The last four days have been very difficult for me, the sheriff's office, and our nation.
All deputies in the sheriff's office go through extensive anti-bias training, administered by instructors from the Anti-Defamation League. We are committed as an accredited law enforcement agency to treat every human being with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
George Floyd should be alive today, and he is not because he was murdered before our eyes by a police officer. I mourn for his family and our nation in coming to grips with the events of this week.
Sean P. Kilkenny, Montgomery County Sheriff
North Penn School District Board of School Directors
As elected school board directors who have the privilege of serving the North Penn School District (NPSD) community, we feel it is important to issue a statement condemning the ongoing acts of harassment and violence against black men and women.
The senseless recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many other lives over the years have exposed the real, continuing fear and anxiety every black family, and those of color, must feel whenever their husbands, sons, brothers, grandchildren or nephews walk out the door, that something harmful might happen just because of the color of their skin. Our fellow Americans do not feel safe - these events are terrible reminders that many are not. We find this to be unacceptable.
We stand with black families and like-minded community members in demanding swift, systemic change. We are only school directors in one district out of 500 in Pennsylvania, yet it is our duty as representatives of our community to advocate for change. We want our families of color, and in particular our black male students, to know that we love them, we value them and that we stand by them.
We will continue to work to ensure the safety of all North Penn students and to do this, value our partnership with the six local police departments who work to serve the North Penn community. We support their sentiment for the need to regain the community's trust and seek to continue to work with them as they not only work to protect and serve each and every member of our community but also work to prevent and heal from these horrific events. The safety of our schools and our community is rooted in a foundation of mutual respect and trust for all.
Signed,
NPSD Board of School Directors
Tina Stoll, President, Christian D. Fusco, Vice President
Elisha K. Gee, Jonathan M. Kassa
Dr. Wanda Lewis-Campbell, Timothy MacBain
Juliane Ramić, Al Roesch and Cathy Wesley
See also:
Lansdale Police Chief Issues Statement Condemning The Death Of George Floyd
Amidst A Stream Of Racism And Death Threats, Bridgeport Mayor Finds Ally In Lansdale
Lansdale Council Unanimously Approves Human Relations Ordinance
Racism Forum Seeks to Reduce Racism in North Penn School District
Swastikas Spray Painted On Car In Montgomery Township On ‘Mischief Night’
