Police Chiefs Group Apologizes for 'Historical Mistreatment' of Minorities

The head of one of the world's largest police organizations apologized Monday for the thousands of U.S. officers who once upheld legalized discrimination.

"While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future," Terrence Cunningham, the executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said at the group's annual conference in San Diego, according to a copy of his prepared remarks distributed ahead of his speech.

Cunningham opened the remarks with an apparent reference to civil rights activists, who through social media and street protests have helped make the issue of racial bias in law enforcement a nationwide debate since the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, ignited protests and a heavy police response in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

"Events over the past several years have caused many to question the actions of our officers and has tragically undermined the trust that the public must and should have in their police departments," the chief said.

He characterized policing as a "noble profession" while acknowledging that officers have at times been the "face of oppression" in some communities for their role in enforcing discriminatory laws "adopted by our society." Stressing that this is no longer the case, Cunningham cited this "dark side of our shared history" as the reason for mistrust between law enforcement and many communities of color, and he apologized for the role police played in that history.

"At the same time, those who denounce the police must also acknowledge that today’s officers are not to blame for the injustices of the past," he said in a thinly veiled message to activists. "If either side in this debate fails to acknowledge these fundamental truths, we will be unlikely to move past them."

The acknowledgment that police enforced discrimination, and the apology for it, mark a departure for a major law enforcement organization in the U.S., policing and legal experts say.

"This is the first time I’ve really seen the IACP come out and take a strong position on this – that is encouraging, because it’s not only a national organization, but an international organization," says retired police chief Chris Burbank, who led the police department in Salt Lake City from 2006-2015, and is now director of law enforcement engagement for the Center for Policing Equity, a think tank.

Other large police organizations, such as the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Association of Police Organizations, have vigorously rejected many allegations of bias in policing – often declaring the arguments anti-cop – and the Fraternal Order last month endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has repeatedly praised the use of stop-and-frisk in New York City, a practice a judge declared unconstitutional in 2013.

"We are extremely disappointed to see such a poorly thought-out statement," Bill Johnson, executive director of NAPO, which represents about 240,000 officers, writes in an email. "NAPO stands for the notion of individual responsibility, not collective guilt. Such appeasement of the violent anti-police movement is just one more nail in the coffin of American law enforcement. The people who support American police officers aren't looking for an apology. And for the people who hate the police it won't make any difference."

The American Civil Liberties Union, by contrast, called Cunningham's speech and apology "a very significant and important statement."

"Americans are very reluctant to apologize for anything. Acknowledging that there has been wrongdoing is a necessary step if you're going to move forward" says Jeffery Robinson, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

He added a caveat: "They're not responsible for what happened in 1968, but they're damn sure responsible for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and unfortunately the same kind of abuses that are being apologized for in this statement are still occurring." But, he concludes, "I don't want to underplay how important this first statement is, but it is simply the first of a number of steps that will have to be taken before policing in America looks radically different than it does today."