Top police organization apologizes for ‘historical mistreatment’ of minorities

https://www.rt.com/usa/363099-iacp-police-apology-minorities-historical-mistreatment/

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A formal apology from the International Association of Chiefs of Police to “communities of color” for “darker periods” in law enforcement is garnering a mixed reaction. Some are calling it appeasement, while others see it as paying phony lip service.

“Clearly, this is a challenging time for policing,” Chief Terrence M. Cunningham of the Wellesley Police Department in Massachusetts told a massive convention audience in San Diego on Monday.

Cunningham is the top police chief of the IACP, which represents some 18,000 police chiefs worldwide, many of whom attended the conference where all attendees reportedly rose to their feet in applause for Cunningham’s address, an apology on behalf of the organization to minorities “for the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in society’s historical mistreatment of communities of color.”

Reactions on social media and from civil rights organizations as well as from other police organizations were not as unanimous as the reception in San Diego.

Deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Jeffery Robinson, couched his praise of Cunningham, calling his remarks “significant” and “a necessary first step to [the law enforcement community] trying to change these relationships,” according to the Washington Post.

Executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, Bill Johnson, said: “We are extremely disappointed to see such a poorly thought-out statement,” in an email to US News and World Report. The NAPO, which represents about 241,000 officers, “stands for the notion of individual responsibility, not collective guilt,” the statement said, adding, “Such appeasement of the violent anti-police movement is just one more nail in the coffin of American law enforcement. The people who support American police officers aren't looking for an apology. And for the people who hate the police it won't make any difference.”

Collective guilt was also a criticism seen on Twitter, but from a different perspective. Largely noting the tone and emphasis in Cunningham’s speech as too equivocating, supporters of Black Lives Matter did not appreciate the focus on the past, rather than current day problems.

Before Cunningham apologized on behalf of IACP members, another apology was being demanded of police in the city of Edina, Minnesota. Over the weekend, the NAACP of Minneapolis called for an independent investigation into any violations of the civil rights of Larnie Thomas, a black man who just had a jaywalking citation dismissed after his confrontation with Officer Tim Olson was recorded on video and went viral online.

The NAACP chapter also called for a formal apology from Edina’s mayor and police chief to the public as well as Thomas. The chapter also stressed its desire to see police implement and adopt the best practices outlined in the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which President Barack Obama commissioned following the Ferguson protests over the police killing of Freddie Gray.

Below are Chief Cunningham’s full remarks from Monday, as reported by the Washington Post: