Both Mayor Mike Mike Hoppock and City Manager Mike Schrage issued statements concerning the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Message from Mayor Mike Hoppock
As we all know, our country currently is in a state of unrest following the death of George Floyd.
I would like to thank all of those involved in the Light Up the Night Vigil for Justice held Saturday evening in Caldwell Plaza, and those who participated in the No Justice No Peace march Sunday, for their courteous and respectful behavior. I think both of these events spoke well of Salina.
We, as a city, are currently investing a significant amount of money in a police training facility. I believe this investment will help us with situational/judgement training, and, along with ongoing training and dialogue, we can hopefully help to avoid any incidents like the one in Minneapolis.
I think we all pray that our country can heal and that we can all become united as one.
Mike Hoppock, mayor
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Message from City Manager Mike Schrage
The injustices that we continue to witness are pervasive, persistent and extremely alarming, and they continue to erode the public’s confidence in police officers nationwide. We cannot view them as isolated events that have happened in other communities as if Salina is insulated from what is going on around us.
I certainly don’t claim to have a simple solution to such a complex and long-standing issue, but we are committed to proactively reviewing what we are currently doing and what we can do better. I sincerely believe that the City of Salina and the Salina Police Department remain very motivated to do the right thing, and that we are open to review and improvement. Police Chief Nelson and I have spoken, and our focus will be on continual review and assessment of our training and organizational culture, as well as insuring that there is proper accountability throughout all levels of our organization. This can also serve as a starting point for us to identify ways to increase and sustain community dialogue.
The recent tragedies that have taken place are justifiably reasons for continued frustration that just further divide us. Salina is such a strong community in so many ways. I am hopeful that we can concentrate our efforts on coming together to improve our performance and our relationships.
Mike Schrage, city manager