Many Americans across the country are continuing to react to the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis resident who died while being detained by police officers, and the protests taking place in Minnesota. On Thursday, the UNC Police Department weighed in on the incident that’s eliciting strong reactions regarding treatment of African American citizens by police.

The department shared a statement on its official Twitter account, crediting the quote to Chief David Perry. He wrote about the role police officers should serve in their respective communities.

“We as leaders can lead but unfortunately we cannot legislate the heart,” said Perry. “In times like this it is imperative those with the power to effect change do so proactively each day. When there is no trust, people will go to the farthest negative extreme with their thoughts, emotions and actions.”

The 46-year-old Floyd died as police arrested him outside a convenience store on Memorial Day. A video of the encounter circulated on social media showed one officer holding his knee to Floyd’s neck despite Floyd saying he could not breathe. The Minneapolis Police Department has since said the officers’ actions were on a report of Floyd using a counterfeit bill.

Perry said in the statement he stands by the Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo’s decision to fire the four officers involved with Floyd’s detainment, which was announced the day after the incident.

“Incidents like the death of Mr. George Floyd magnify the work still needed in this honorable profession,” said Perry, “to properly hire, train, retain and when appropriate, dismiss those who are not fit to serve and protect our communities.”

The UNC Police Department has faced its own scrutiny from students in recent years regarding the treatment of protestors when the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam was on campus. Following an external report that highlighted “serious shortcomings in proper police procedures,” in UNC Police’s handling of arrests, community members held a demonstration in November to advocate for more accountability by UNC.

The university hired Perry to become the police department’s chief in August 2019.

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