By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
(Greenfield, MA) Mayor Roxann Wedegartner released a statement today condemning the acts of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. In the statement, Wedegartner assured residents that the Greenfield Police Department will live up to the oath they have sworn.
”I commit to ensuring that our police force is trained in all aspects of community policing, including critical incident training and de-escalation techniques, that no acts committed by officers that exceeds our use of force policies and results in extreme injury or death will be tolerated,” said Wedegartner.
Wedegartner said she believes countless black men have died at the hands of police brutality that have gone unreported, due to a code of silence that permeates the violence. Formally of the south, Wedegartner said she is all too familiar with this kind of racism.
“The depravity and cold indifference of Derek Chauvin as he crushed the life from George Floyd with his knee is hard for many of us to conceive. As a southerner raised among racists, it is sadly not hard for me to conceive,” said Wedegartner.
Wedegartner called for a commitment to end racism in the country once and for all and an end to the injustices that fuel racism in America.
“We cannot change course until we condemn and confront the racism that gives life to these injustices. In four hundred years, we haven’t been able to do it; but we must commit to getting it right this time,” said Wedegartner in the statement.
The statement comes as Minnesota Attorney General Kieth Ellison announced increased charges for Chauvin and warrants for the other three officers involved in the killing.