Statements from Mayor and Police Chief Regarding Recent Events Against People of Color June 1, 2020
Statement from Police Chief Brecklin
To Our Fitchburg Community,
This week I watched in disbelief the video of George Floyd’s last moments and was extremely disturbed and saddened by what I saw. The actions of the former Minneapolis Police Officers in that video do not reflect the values of our Fitchburg community and the members of the Fitchburg Police Department who selflessly serve our community every day.
Our department has worked hard to continue building trust and relationships in all neighborhoods of our community. This incident undermines and unravels all of our efforts. I emphatically state the actions and inactions of the former officers are unacceptable. Additionally, I support the statement released by the Dane County Chiefs of Police Association on Thursday condemning the actions of the former officers.
The Fitchburg Police Department strives to hire people who reflect our community with a desire to serve, create a culture of respect for all, provide training and policies to guide us in carrying out our service, and assess the service we provide regularly. As we carry out our service to our community, we seek to provide it with fairness, respect, and compassion.
Placing a knee on a person’s neck is not consistent with our training at the Fitchburg Police Department nor tolerated. We seek to use communication skills, de-escalation tactics, and time and distance whenever we are able. In those instances where these are unsuccessful or unavailable and we must use force, this use of force receives a multi-layer assessment to ensure the force used was necessary and appropriate for the situation.
We will use this incident as an opportunity to reflect on our values of fairness, respect, and compassion and that our service continues to match those values. Undoubtedly, this incident will cause us to seek improvement where possible. We have an excellent team of people at the Fitchburg Police Department who serve with dedication and professionalism. This team will work tirelessly to rebuild the trust and relationships that were shattered this week and continue to hold ourselves at the Fitchburg Police Department to a high standard.
Chad Brecklin
Fitchburg Police Chief
Statement from Mayor Richardson
It is with a heavy heart I have watched the events in Minnesota unfold. I have struggled to put into words my feelings seeing not only what happened to George Floyd but also African Americans throughout the country doing ordinary things like jogging or bird watching. I have never had to worry about my safety like people of color, especially African Americans, do every day throughout this country. I have that privilege. We need to do better. It breaks my heart to hear from friends who fear for the safety of their African American sons. This country needs to do better.
We are fortunate to have an exceptional police department in Fitchburg with very high standards. They hold themselves to a higher standard and I hold them to a higher standard. They work hard to protect and serve our community and build trust and relationships with our community. I will continue to support them while also making it clear there will be no tolerance for the actions we have seen time and again in other parts of our country. Nothing can justify the actions of the former law enforcement officers in Minnesota against George Floyd.
The Fitchburg City Council joins me in condemning the actions of individuals throughout the country against people of color, especially the African American community. Fitchburg will be better and we will lead the fight against systems of oppression. Fitchburg is one of the most diverse communities in Wisconsin. It is one of our best qualities. Everyone is welcome here and everyone needs to feel safe here.
Aaron – Fitchburg Mayor
Dorothy, Gabriella, Joe, Julia, Randy, Sarah, Shannon, Tom – Fitchburg City Council