Local Police Chiefs Respond To Death Of George Floyd

NEW TRIER TOWNSHIP, IL — Police chiefs and elected officials in Glencoe, Wilmette and Winnetka last week issued statements in response to the in-custody homicide of George Floyd.

Floyd's death "disgusted and saddened" Wilmette's chief of police, who decried the "excessive force and brutality" that led to Floyd's May 25 death with a Minneapolis police officer's knee on his neck.

Public safety officers in Glencoe "share in the outrage and pain created by excessive and unlawful use of force by police officers," Public Safety Director Cary Lewandowski, a longtime Lincolnwood police officer, said in a statement Thursday.

Lewandowski said Glencoe officers, who are cross-trained to provide both police and fire services, were trained to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and the department has no tolerance for those who don't.

Marc Hornstein, chief of Winnetka police, said in a June 1 statement that the way Minneapolis police officers used force on Floyd was "appalling on many levels and is not indicative of the professional policing that occurs in our community."

Although Winnetka police are not equipped with body cameras, he said, any incident where force is used is reviewed "at every level" of the department, including by the chief.

Floyd's May 25 death, added to the recent fatal shootings of two other unarmed African-Americans — Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County, Georgia — prompted two weeks of protests in all 50 states and internationally.

Local demonstrations have been held in dozens of Chicago area suburbs, including the North Shore communities of Deerfield, Evanston, Glenview, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Skokie, Wilmette, Winnetka.

On Saturday, two groups of demonstrators marched Saturday to Village Green Park in Winnetka, where hundreds of people gathered to denounce racism and hold a vigil on behalf of Floyd.

And on Tuesday, a candlelight vigil and walk is planned in Wilmette. Demonstrators plan to begin at Village Hall at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and head to Vattmann Park ahead of a 9:15 p.m. vigil.

Glencoe Public Safety Director Cary Lewandowski issued the following statement June 4:

The members of the Glencoe Public Safety Department share in the outrage and pain created by excessive and unlawful use of force by police officers. We are also very aware that these actions create a divide between ourselves and the community, the very people we are sworn to serve and protect. As officers and citizens, we join those grieving across the country and stand with those seeking justice.

The Glencoe Public Safety Department has a long history of providing ethical and honorable police service. More than anything, we recognize that the trust granted us by our community must be earned every day through our words and actions. Moreover, Glencoe’s unique public safety model purposely instills a service orientation in our officers. It helps us foster positive relationships with our community and those who visit Glencoe and provides us with opportunities to serve as community caretakers.

Our officers are trained and expected to serve everyone with whom they interact with dignity and respect – no matter who they are or where they are from. We do not tolerate actions by any Public Safety officer that acts contrary to that expectation.

As a Department, we understand that our authority is derived from the people we serve, and we must hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability, especially in the area of police use of force. We remain committed to providing equal protection under the law to all those that we serve.

In these trying times, our officers remain vigilant and dedicated to our mission – which is to serve and protect everyone to the best of our abilities. Our resolve is made stronger through the mutual support and trust we share with the community.

As always, we are honored to serve.

Cary Lewandowski
Glencoe Public Safety Director

Wilmette Police Chief Kyle Murphy issued the following undated statement:

As the leader of the Wilmette Police Department, I am disgusted and saddened at the death of George Floyd. Such excessive force and brutality have no place in law enforcement. I wanted to take this opportunity to share how our Department strives to provide impartial law enforcement, community-oriented services and police protection to all citizens.

The men and women of the Wilmette Police Department are dedicated to serving with compassion and empathy. Officers of the Wilmette Police Department are a highly skilled, trained and dedicated group of professionals who pride themselves on community engagement efforts which foster meaningful interactions with our residents, visitors, and businesses. The Wilmette Police Department is committed to the principle that all individuals will be treated with dignity and respect.

Our efforts begin with hiring. Our Department only accepts applicants who meet the high moral, ethical and educational standards of the Board of Fire & Police Commissioners. We only recruit officers who meet our departmental values including acknowledging our responsibility and accountability to citizens, treating each person with respect, dignity and compassion; and promoting mutual trust. For over thirty years we have required entry level applicants to possess a bachelor’s degree. This requirement combined with our continuing education ensures our personnel continue to develop as individuals.

We are committed to providing the highest quality training available to our employees. Every new entry level Officer attends a state certified police academy for 560 hours of instruction. Upon their return, all Officers must successfully complete a minimum of a 12-week field training program. We then provide continuing education, with officers receiving an average of 87 hours of training annually. This includes subject matters such as cultural competency, procedural justice, mental health, de-escalation, use of force, biased based policing and crisis intervention. These areas of education are foundational to our mission and values.

As a Department we hold ourselves to a high standard. This is represented by recognition as a nationally accredited Police Department through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). CALEA’s mission is to improve the delivery of public safety services by maintaining a body of policing standards. In 1986, the Wilmette Police Department was the 3rd agency in the State of Illinois and 29th in the Nation to be accredited. We continue to maintain this status through consistent improvement in our policing methods to best serve the public and to evolve to meet challenging issues, including biased policing, human rights, and deadly force. To meet these standards and maintain these goals, we must prove that our practices follow our policies.

The Wilmette Police Department is committed to building and maintaining the community’s trust and confidence. We were early signatories to the shared principles of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the NAACP regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the communities and people they serve.

When an issue does arise, we as an organization are prepared to appropriately respond to these events. We have had in squad recording systems, including Officer worn microphones for over 20 years. Officer citizen interactions are periodically reviewed to ensure standard compliance. While we currently do not have body worn cameras, we do regularly review this program. All complaints against department personnel are thoroughly investigated. On occasion, Officers will need to use force in the performance of their duties. These incidents are documented and reviewed by multiple supervisory levels to ensure policy and law compliance and identify training, procedural, or equipment needs.

In addition to our continual efforts of improvement, we are committed to transparency. Each year the Police Department prepares an Annual Report which is published on the Village website. The Annual Report provides detailed information and analysis of the Department’s training, crime statistics, use of force, traffic stops, and other policing metrics. To view these reports, click this link.

I want to thank you for your continued support. I encourage all members of the community to stay connected with the Village via E-News, Facebook, Twitter as well as the Community Notification System for emergency messages. Sincerely,

Kyle Murphy
Wilmette Chief of Police

Winnetka Police Chief Marc Hornstein issued the following statement on June 1:

The use of force incident that occurred in Minneapolis is appalling on many levels and is not indicative of the professional policing that occurs in our community. We take tremendous pride in the relationship we have with our community and how we interact with the public.

We have the highest standards in our recruitment and selection process for our officers. We provide our officers with the best training possible which includes de-escalation techniques, mental health awareness, proper use of force, and cultural competency. We have a supervisor on-duty 24/7 to ensure department policies are followed. If an incident occurs where force is used, it is reviewed at every level of the organization, including the Chief of Police. While we do not have body cameras, we have mobile video and audio recording systems installed in our police vehicles and we use that system to its fullest capacity.

Finally, we always encourage anyone who has questions or concerns about a specific incident involving any of our personnel to contact us so we can review and respond accordingly. The feedback we receive from our community is important to us and we are here to listen.

Marc Hornstein
Winnetka Police Chief

Some local elected officials also issued statements regarding Floyd's death.

Glencoe Village President Larry Levin issued the following statement June 4:

It is difficult to find the right words to express the emotions we are feeling in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd. Anger, sadness, indignation, hopelessness – we feel these both as humans and as a community. We denounce manifestations of hate in all forms.

Mr. Floyd’s death is a stark reminder that racism still exists. This is a painful reality that I desperately wish was not the case. Glencoe is a small community of people who care about each other, and the things we choose to do every day can make a big difference in our community and in our society as a whole in combating this issue.

About three years ago, Glencoe adopted the Welcoming and Inclusive Community Pledge as a statement of the values our community upholds and our firm commitment to the importance and inclusion of all people. But without action, a statement is merely words on a page.

We are a community in which neighbors get to know one another for who we are as people. It’s in those connections that true community building happens and the special differences in our backgrounds and beliefs are celebrated instead of polarized. It’s why people from all over the world, with different backgrounds, beliefs and traditions are grateful to call Glencoe home.

As a local government, Glencoe lives the words of our Welcoming and Inclusive Community Pledge in the work we do in service to people every day.

Our workforce represents many dimensions of diversity in who we are as individual people and the work we do. Our diversity is what makes our team vibrant, creative and thoughtful. Our workplace culture is one that includes and values all our team members. Our common goal of public service unites us.

Our team is part of the community. The Public Safety Department’s mission is to protect and serve all people and our officers profoundly believe in it, whether providing emergency medical services or police protection. Our team knows that the human element is vitally important in maintaining the community’s trust, and we know that trust must be earned every day. That’s why our officers receive training in interpersonal communication, de-escalation and inclusive intelligence, and our Public Safety Command staff have participated in in-depth training on human emotions and leadership.

Despite the ways Glencoe lives our tenet of inclusion, there’s still more to do. Our commitment to our Welcoming and Inclusive Community Pledge does not permit us to stand still, and we are therefore committed to working together with our faith community, our Community Relations Forum and our cultural organizations to continue to make progress.

As individuals, I continue to encourage you to find ways to live the Welcoming and Inclusive Community Pledge that so many of us have signed. If you haven’t done so, you can do so electronically here. Community building and connecting with people has never been more important – hate cannot grow where people know and care for each other.

Each of us is an important part of the community, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days, weeks and months as we continue to seek ways of growing together as one community.
Lawrence R. Levin
Village President

The Wilmette Village Board issued a joint statement on June 4:

The Village of Wilmette Board of Trustees denounces the actions of the police officers involved in the tragic and abhorrent death of George Floyd. Those actions and similar incidents have led to demonstrations and calls for racial and social justice across our country.

Our Board absolutely rejects any acts of violence and discrimination against another person in our community. The Village Board is proud of the high standards established by our Police Department and their efforts to build relationships throughout our entire community. Our Police Department has and will continue to serve our community with compassion, empathy, acceptance and understanding.

Acts of racial injustice have no place in our society. It is our responsibility as a community to foster an inclusive environment where people of all racial, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds feel safe and welcomed. We must not pretend that Wilmette is immune from racism; we need to support our neighbors and reject racism in all its forms.

Peaceful protests have historically been a catalyst for bringing about positive change in our society. For those seeking to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights to demonstrate and seek change, the Village wholly supports those efforts and will treat all involved with understanding, compassion and respect.

Civic trust is a privilege that must continue to be earned by the Village daily. To earn this trust, we will continue to foster a safe and equitable community for our residents and visitors. It is our duty to join together peacefully as neighbors to cultivate a welcoming Wilmette.