Chief Tusken issues an editorial statement claiming that police are unfairly negatively stereotyped.
IMPACT: The editorial was in reaction to a headline about another topic than riot gear, but the statements made in the editorial are telling about Chief Tusken’s view of his and the police force’s place in the community.
He states, “cops in America have become accustomed to a narrative that has them guilty until proven innocent with facts a burden to a good story…We have become tone deaf to the negative rhetoric.” He continues with “We are exploring new ways to do a better job of telling our compelling story about how we engage and serve our communities.” While he acknowledges a few bad apples, he thinks the solution is to change the way they talk about police. He doesn’t address the systemic racism that is proven time and again to be a part of law enforcement in our nation. Or the legitimate concerns about violence by police against citizens (especially citizens of color) going largely unchecked.