Law Enforcement Leaders Speak Out About George Floyd's Death

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County law enforcement leaders Monday unequivocally condemned George Floyd's death and how he was treated in police custody, and vowed they will take "swift disciplinary action" against officers whose conduct comes into question.

Their statement comes a little over a week after video footage of Floyd's fatal arrest surfaced online. In the now-viral video, a handcuffed Floyd can be seen pleading for air as a white Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The officer, identified as Derek Chauvin, was later fired from his job and charged with third-degree murder.

"We unequivocally condemn the actions of the Minneapolis police officers," the statement read. "Here in Montgomery County, we are aware of the historical relationship and distrust that has existed between the police and many minority residents — especially within the black community. This must change."

The statement was signed by Montgomery County Sheriff Darren Popkin and six other police chiefs across Montgomery County, including Chevy Chase's John Fitzgerald and Takoma Park's Antonio DeVaul.

Floyd's death reignited nationwide protests against racial injustices and police brutality — with some demonstrators calling for elected leaders to defund police.

"We are aware that law enforcement everywhere is under great scrutiny and calls for transparency and greater accountability are voiced by many residents in our community. We realize that we must work toward greater transparency and accountability in order to hold the public trust," law enforcement officials wrote.

The county's 1,300-member police force — which touts itself as one of the more progressive departments in the country — has repeatedly come under fire over its policing tactics.

In 2018, Robert Lawrence White, a 41-year-old black man, was fatally shot by a Montgomery County police officer in the parking lot of a Silver Spring townhouse community. White's death sent shockwaves through the region and served as a catalyst for the creation, and eventual passage, of the LETT Act.

In May 2019, video surfaced on social media of a white officer using the N-word while talking to a group of black men reportedly loitering at a McDonald's. About two months later, another Montgomery County police officer was caught on video shoving a knee into the face of a man in custody.

In their letter to the community, the officers vowed to build and maintain public trust, saying:

• We will work to continually improve training in cultural competency for our officers to enable them to more effectively and positively engage an ever-changing diverse community.
• We will remind every member of our teams of their individual and collective responsibility to treat all persons fairly, respectfully, with kindness, empathy, restraint and discretion. This is what we expect of our officers, and this is what our communities expect and deserve.
• We will increase our efforts to recruit and hire women and men that reflect the communities we serve and to hire the right people for this critically important work.
• We will hold officers and employees accountable for misconduct so that the public trust built from the good work of the vast majority of our dedicated workforce will not be diminished by the misdeeds of the few.

Click here to read the statement.