Framingham Police Chief Makes Statement On George Floyd Killing

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Nearly a week after the police killing of George Floyd, Framingham Police Chief Steve Trask has released a statement from the department rebuking police brutality.

Trask's statement came late Sunday night, and highlighted that Framingham "has embraced the pillars" of the 2015 21st Century Policing report produced by Barack Obama's Department of Justice. The document was created following mass demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo., over the police killing of Michael Brown.

Here's Trask's full statement:

I share the same emotions as you when seeing the news coming out of Minnesota- heartbreak, anger, pain and profound disappointment.

As a long time member of the Massachusetts Major Cities Chiefs organization, I echo my organization’s statement regarding George Floyd’s death.

'The Massachusetts Major City Police Chiefs stand firm with law enforcement professionals across the Commonwealth and the nation and strongly denounce the egregious behavior exhibited by the four officers in Minneapolis, leading to the tragic death of George Floyd.

'These types of actions are no way indicative of the professional policing that is displayed on our city streets each and every day. Our heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences go out to the Floyd family. We all must learn from this tragedy so that it never happens again.'

This has affected every member of the Framingham Police Department deeply. The Framingham Police Department has embraced the pillars of President Obama’s report on 21st century policing and strive to follow them every day.

The Framingham Police Department stands with the residents of Framingham denouncing this abhorrent behavior and sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of George Floyd.

Framingham has seen small demonstrations following the Floyd killing on May 25 in Minneapolis. On Friday, a group of demonstrators knelt outside Framingham's Memorial Hall for 9 minutes — the same amount of time former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck.

Larger cities across the country, including Boston, have seen large-scale unrest, with looting and vandalism — and police brutalizing demonstrators. Forty people were arrested overnight in Boston following a demonstration that ended in looting, and at least one police vehicle set on fire.