Posted: May 30, 2020
On behalf of the entire Punta Gorda Police Department, I want to let the community know that we are appalled over the actions of the officers involved in the death of Mr. George Floyd. I want to ensure all of our community members that the Punta Gorda Police Department does not train our officers to use any tactics that involve kneeling or applying pressure on the neck of an individual. Purposely using these tactics would be considered deadly force. Our department’s organizational values; integrity, excellence, teamwork, fairness and impartiality, and respect are deeply entrenched within our agency at every level. We strongly believe in treating everyone as human beings. We value the sanctity of human life and we have incorporated de-escalation and the duty to intervene within our policies and training over the past few years. We will continue to hold ourselves accountable in the protection of the constitutional rights of everyone we serve and in treating everyone fairly.
Our hearts go out to the families and friends of Mr. Floyd. His death was senseless and wrong. Our profession has been tarnished once more because of the actions of these officers. I have spoken with our local NAACP President, Reverend Louis Anderson, and we will be meeting in person to further discuss this situation. I ask that our community members continue to partner with us to maintain the highest level of trust and that we work together to make sure the needs of our community are being met.