Black Lives Matter Morristown plans a rally on Saturday, May 30, 2020, in response to the death of George Floyd, the African American man who died on Memorial Day when a Minneapolis police officer pinned his throat to the ground with his knee.
The 7 pm rally will start as a car procession from Morristown High School, and end with a social-distanced vigil outside the Morris Township police building.
The four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s arrest have been fired, and Officer Derek Chauvin was charged Friday with third-degree murder.
Floyd’s death has sparked riots in Minneapolis and protests around the country. President Trump on Friday expressed condolences to Floyd’s family, after warning demonstrators in a tweet Thursday night “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Morris Township Police Chief Mark DiCarlo sent a statement to residents acknowledging the “horrific” incident that claimed Floyd’s life.
On behalf of the Morris Township Police Department, we offer our condolences to the family, friends and relatives of George Floyd. We do not condone those actions and behaviors.
Please know that our officers are continuously and consistently training on topics pertaining to racial profiling, harassment, ethics, cultural diversity, use of force, dealing with mental illness and substance abuse to name a few.
As an Agency, we have provided tools and equipment to our officers in order to have alternatives to the use of deadly force as well as teach de-escalation techniques. Perhaps our greatest achievement is the diversification of our personnel, many of which grew up in our community.
As we move forward in a positive direction from this incident, our police department will focus on building and maintaining our positive relationship with our residents. We are committed to solidarity and not division. We are your police department and we ask for your assistance in growing with you.
Thank you
Chief Mark DiCarlo
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said he was “horrified” by video footage of Floyd’s death, and said abusive police practices won’t be tolerated in the Garden State. His statement:
Mr. Floyd’s death reminds us that our country has a long way to go not only in healing our nation’s racial divides, but also in addressing the systemic and implicit biases that prevent all Americans from equally securing our country’s great promises. Now more than ever, we must redouble our commitment to building trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, especially those from historically marginalized communities.
Here in New Jersey, we are absolutely committed to a criminal justice system that is fair, transparent, and free of bias. This past December, we rolled out a sweeping set of statewide policy reforms, known as the Excellence in Policing Initiative, to promote the culture of professionalism, accountability, and transparency that are hallmarks of New Jersey’s best law enforcement agencies. But we must do more, and we are committed to working with our partners in law enforcement and the broader community to identify additional opportunities for improvement.
Unfortunately, there remain occasions where an officer uses violent force against civilians without justification. We condemn such actions, not simply because they are wrong, but also because they do a disservice to the vast majority of law enforcement officers committed to upholding the highest standards of the profession.
We also prosecute such cases criminally and through the police disciplinary process. As Attorney General, I oversee the investigation of use-of-force cases in this State, a role that makes me particularly sensitive to the difficulties of investigating and prosecuting such cases. My role as Attorney General also prevents me from commenting on individual cases, even where the publicly available information is horrifying and the conduct at issue unconscionable.
The residents of New Jersey should rest assured that we will never tolerate the types of police practices that resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death. As part of our Excellence in Policing Initiative, we created new mechanisms for reporting allegations of police misconduct, including a standardized reporting form that must be offered by every police department in New Jersey. We take police-misconduct allegations seriously, and we are committed to ensuring justice and accountability for every resident of this state.
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