The Men & Women of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association condemn the events in Minneapolis where a group of officers’ actions and inactions, led to the death of Mr. George Floyd.  The actions of these officers do not represent the goals and mission of our organization or any other reputable law enforcement agency.  These individuals must be held accountable through our justice system.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Floyd’s family and friends.

It is with the exact same vision that we cannot ignore the violence and destruction that lawless persons have perpetrated throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.  It is intolerable that our communities and neighborhoods are being threatened by violent individuals whose sole goal is not to recognize and advocate for change between law enforcement and the communities we serve, but to pursue their own personal goals of theft, destruction and violence.  Their acts only increase the divide in our communities and undermine the message of justice and security that peaceful protestors seek to promote.

We are asking the citizens of our communities to take action by reporting those who are committing these crimes and to support our efforts to protect and serve this region.  It is important to hold the individuals who are attacking our communities accountable.  Criminal acts of violence cannot be tolerated under any circumstance, whether committed by individuals wearing a uniform or not.  There has never and will never be justification for looting, burning businesses and destroying property within our communities.

The overwhelming number of individuals within the law enforcement profession are good and caring human beings, just like the individuals in our communities and the peaceful protestors seeking to help these communities.  Officers provide daily life saving services to their communities and to attack them wholly for the actions of a few is wrong.  Retired Captain David Dorn’s life should not mean any less than Mr. George Floyd’s, just because he once wore a blue uniform.  Now is the time for all good citizens to stand with their communities and law enforcement to demand this violence stop and work together for effective change.