Terrence Cunningham, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, apologized Monday for historical racial abuse while speaking at the organization’s annual conference.
Cunningham referred to the historical mistreatment of minorities as a “dark side of our shared history,” saying it’s important for it to be acknowledged to be overcome, The Associated Press reported.
In Cunningham’s statements, he alluded to police being a “face of oppression, enforcing laws that ensured legalized discrimination and denial of basic rights,” the AP noted.
While he didn’t directly blame today’s police officers for past injustices, he did highlight some of the recent events that have plagued our society, saying that these incidents have created major obstacles for the bridge of trust between police and members of the community.
“While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future,” Cunningham said, according to the AP. “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 and the (International Association of Chiefs of Police) 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,” he added.
Though Cunningham’s remarks earned him a standing ovation, there were still some mixed responses following his message.
“There are communities that have long perceived us as oppressors, there are communities that have long perceived us as the jackbooted arm of government designed to keep people under control, and that’s one of the things we have to work hard to get past,” said Delrish Moss, police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, who felt the comments were a step in the right direction, the AP reported. “I’m glad it’s being addressed ... because the only way to get past it is to first acknowledge the existence of it.”
Chuck Canterbury, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, urged fixing the underlying problems such as urban decay and homelessness, USA Today reported.
“Seeking workable solutions to issues that affect us all so directly is a much more worthy endeavor, one which will do far more to foster goodwill and understanding between law enforcement and the community at large,” he said.
Lieutenant Bob Kroll, head of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, called Cunningham’s comments “asinine.”
“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, the AP reported. “We’ve got officers dying on almost a daily basis now because of this environment, and statements like that don’t help.”
Cunningham’s comments come after several police shootings involving black men that have created uproars and heartache in communities around the country, as well as time of retaliation, with police being targeted in Dallas, Baton Rouge, and near St. Louis.