NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Police Chief Shaun Ferguson calls it an in-custody death and says the video of a Minneapolis police officer's knee on the neck of George Floyd is disturbing as a citizen and concerning as an officer in charge of an entire department.
“We rely on our training, and — definitely — what you saw on that video is not anything that we're trained to do,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson says ethical training is crucial, and within his department, there's a program called E.P.I.C., which stands for ethical policing is courageous.
It's meant to encourage officers who witness misconduct to step up and intervene. Ferguson says he even made a call to action earlier this week for every officer in the ranks.
“Just as we are responsible for policing our citizens, we should be just as responsible for policing one another," said Ferguson.
Training was also a topic of conversation for Mayor LaToya Cantrell during an interview with the BBC.
"This should have never gotten to this point. It should have never escalated to Floyd losing his life. It should have never happened at all, especially with the officers standing by," said Cantrell.
The city's criminal justice commissioner, Tenisha Stevens wrote an open letter about Floyd's death and her pledge to the city of New Orleans. Part of that letter states "I vow to you actions and negligence such as this will not be tolerated. The citizens who live in and visit our great city deserve a professional and caring police department."
That's exactly the type of department Chief Ferguson says he's committed to, but with cases like Floyd's, Ahmaud Arbery's in Georgia and even Alton Sterling's in Baton Rouge, sometimes, it gets personal.
“As a father of three young black men, it is even more alarming because I know the concerns we hear from our community with social injustice and things of that nature,” said Ferguson.
It also becomes personal for Mayor Cantrell who says she's frustrated.
"I'm very much tired of this happening over and over and over again in the black community, to black people, in particular black men," Cantrell.
With peaceful protests happening in the city of New Orleans, both leaders hope attention can lead to change.
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