Mixed reaction to US police chief apology
Print Edition
FOR some, the apology went too far. For others, it didn’t go far enough. For many, it was just right.
The president of one of the largest police organizations in the United States on Monday apologized for historical mistreatment of minorities, calling it a “dark side of our shared history” that must be acknowledged and overcome.
Terrence Cunningham, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said at the group’s annual conference that police have historically been a face of oppression, enforcing laws that ensured legalized discrimination and denial of basic rights. He was not more specific.
Cunningham said today’s officers are not to blame for past injustices. He did not speak in detail about modern policing, but said events over the past several years have undermined public trust.
His comments come as police shootings of black men have roiled communities in Ferguson, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and St Paul, Minnesota; and as black shooters have targeted officers in Dallas, St Louis and Baton Rouge.
“While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future,” Cunningham said.
“We must forge a path that allows us to move beyond our history and identify common solutions to better protect our communities.
“For our part, the first step in this process is for law enforcement ... to acknowledge and apologize for the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in society’s historical mistreatment of communities of color.”
Cunningham received a standing ovation for his remarks from thousands of law enforcement officials.
Delrish Moss, who has been police chief of Ferguson since May and is black, said:
“There are communities that have long perceived us as oppressors, there are communities that have long perceived us as the jackbooted arm of government ... and that’s one of the things we have to work hard to get past. I’m glad it’s being addressed ... because the only way to get past it is to first acknowledge the existence of it.”
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement were less enthusiastic.
Campaign Zero co-founder DeRay Mckesson said he looked forward to Cunningham’s comments being backed up by deep, structural changes to policing and the criminal justice system.
But lieutenant Bob Kroll, head of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, thought Cunningham’s statement went too far.
“Our profession is under attack right now and what we don’t need is chiefs like him perpetuating that we are all bad guys in law enforcement,” Kroll said.
“I think it’s an asinine statement.”
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