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Brentwood police chief embraces protesters
In the Bay Area, there have been moments of unity between protesters and police. Over the weekend, police officers reached out to protestors and found common ground.
BRENTWOOD, Calif. - In the Bay Area, there have been moments of unity between protestors and police. Over the weekend, police officers reached out to protestors and found common ground.
On Sunday, Brentwood’s police chief gave an impromptu speech to a group of young protestors. He told them in his 30 years on the job, he’s never hurt anybody.
“Don’t paint us with a brush like that,” said Brentwood Police Chief Thomas Hansen. “My police department loves you. They love you. We work hard to keep you safe out here and we appreciate you so much.”
Instead of anger and yelling seen at so many protests, there was applause.
“They were there for the right reasons,” said Chief Hansen. “They wanted me to hear them and I heard them.”
At the same weekend protest, Oakley’s police chief was seen taking a knee, then hugging a young African American girl who was clearly emotional.
Oakland police officers also took a knee at Clay and Eighth Streets on Sunday night. In Santa Cruz, the police chief there knelt alongside the mayor and demonstrators.
“Whether or not I was a cop,” said Santa Cruz Police Chief Andrew Mills. “I wanted to go and protest and say this was wrong.”
Like many police officers, Chief Mills said he was deeply disturbed by George Floyd’s death and wanted to send a message to not only the community but his department.
“We are part of this community,” said Chief Mills. “We are part of the Black community. We are part of the Asian community, Hispanic, White community, Gay community, this is all part of who we are.”
Back in Brentwood, the police chief later embraced protestors.
“You can tell when a hug means something and there were some folks in that crowd that needed to be hugged as much as I did,” said Chief Hansen.
Chief Hansen alluded to changes when he addressed the crowd. He said those changes include educating the community more on police action and training and having more dialogue with community members. He hopes George Floyd's death will not be in vain.