On Saturday, May 30, 2020, Des Moines Police Chief Ken Thomas issued the following statement on the recent police killing of George Floyd:

STATEMENT FROM POLICE CHIEF, KEN THOMAS

After consultation with Mayor Pina, the City Council, City Manager Matthias and the Des Moines Police Guild leadership, I am making the following statement regarding the recent events in Minnesota and the death of George Floyd.

On behalf of the City of Des Moines and the Des Moines Police Department, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the Floyd Family.

The actions seen on the video are not consistent with police training or values. Quite frankly, the actions of the officer with his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck and the failure of his fellow officers to intervene and stop this action are not consistent with basic human decency. I am deeply concerned by the actions of these officers yet encouraged by the response of the police department and justice system to ensure accountability.

In the policing profession, we work hard to build trust with the communities we serve. It is incredibly unfortunate that the actions taken by the Officers in Minnesota will likely set back the work done by professional and ethical police officers throughout the country. Those officers tarnished the reputation of the policing profession and have betrayed not only their community but fellow officers. We must hold ourselves and our officers accountable for their actions.

Moving forward, we must consider how to collectively strengthen public trust when that trust has so publicly been breached. The police actions we have seen are not consistent with the standards, beliefs and values of our Department. Every person deserves justice. We will continuously work to improve our culture, policies and training. We all must do better to hold ourselves to a higher standard in policing and I can assure you that the City of Des Moines and the Des Moines Police Department are committed to working tirelessly to maintain and further earn your trust.

Chief Thomas

6 replies on “Des Moines Police Chief Ken Thomas issues statement on police killing of George Floyd”

  1. It is possible that my young life was blessed by the presence of caring police in our little town of East Boston. Officer “Eddy” O’Brien took me on trips, showed me right from wrong, my dad is at war, and my mother too busy to watch over my actions out of the house. Then Officer Varner enlisted me into the Junior Police with training on how to identify wrongdoing and many bus trips, picnics, and just plain fun things. Our police in Des Moines still represents to me what is right in America, and the same feeling of security that I have come to expect without taking for granted. Once in Des Moines, I witnessed a couple being arrested and in handcuffs, then with courteous treatment ushered into the police car for transport. What I witnessed was a large policeman gently treating two bad neighbors humanely. Feeling suspicion, I immediately went to the Des Moines police desk and reported what I had seen, voicing my concern of a claim of police brutality. Within a month I was subpoenaed as a witness to a claim of police brutality. Long story short, their case was thrown out. We, as citizens need to pay attention to scenes such as this and react accordingly. In our years here in Des Moines (42 now0 we have always known of great policing. Thank you, Chief Thomas, for your prompt reaction to the horror we witnessed from Minneapolis MN. You have our well-earned trust. I did not run a stoplight!

    1. THIS MEANS NOTHING TO A PERSON THAT IS BLACK, YOU ARE ONE PERSON SPEAKING ON YOURSELF, BECAUSE AS YOU SPEAK THE HATE STILL FLOWS THROUGH YOUR colleagues. MY NEIGHBORS ARE RACIST ON LET IT BE KNOWN. I LIVE IN DES MOINES. I ASKED A DES MOINES POLICE FOR HELP ONE TIME TWO YEARS AGO AND HE TOLD ME HE COULD NOT HELP ME OUT. YOUR DEPARTMENT ARE CRAWLING WITH RACIST OFFICERS. I KNOW IT’S GOOD POLICEMAN AND WOMEN, I’M GOOD PERSON TOO. STILL I’M TREATED AS IF I’M NOT FROM HERE. SO DO YOUR SONG AND DANCE FOR VOTES, WE ARE THE PEOPLE, WE NEED PEOPLE TO STOP KILLING US……PLEASE!!!!!!

      1. Concepcion C Relerford, you have touched a sensitive spot with your observation and you are correct in that I am only one person. My views are my own personal ones and, yes, I must admit to some biases, not hateful ones though. As a member of a fraternal organization that is truly diversified, I find your assertions re “colleagues” are misguided. As we lived in Georgia back in the 60s we were exposed to racial poor treatment in ways I hope you will never realize or experience. Sitting over lunch with a fellow Sergeant Cleveland, I became a target of white fellows who warned me that my conduct was unacceptable. This did not deter me and I sat again with Cleveland, only to be transferred to another duty station. At Boeing, I met Chico Comp[ton a black guy from Chicago who spoke to me as you have above and he escaped to Seattle for better and equal treatment. We had shared duties and worked together without being either. white or black, just coworkers with a single purpose. I do not “sing or dance” at elections but I do pay attention to competency first. As for the recent murder that I can never unsee, I sincerely hope you know that I feel equal pain. I did hate seeing a fellow human being asphyxiated while begging to just breathe. The policeman perpetrator does not represent more than a fraction of one percent. if you were my neighbor, I would only dislike you if you threw cigarette butts on our lawn. Maybe we will see you one day down at the marina Quarterdeck and can share something. A good person like you should never be mistreated and absolutely never by me or those I know. Our policemen will help only if you are in some form of dilemma, being attacked, or being victimized, I think. We do not agree on the Des Moines Police born racist without substantial facts. God bless and keep you safe now.

        1. Thanks Pat for constantly reminding us what a perfect person you are. Can’t wait for your next story.

          1. Oh, God, Bill, you do not know me or the many mistakes and dumb things I have been involved in over the years since 1929. Mistakes, oversights, blundering, all of these are part of the learning curve that helps keep us on course. Thank you for your observation.

  2. DMPD, where do you stand regarding the criminal and violent activities of famed Ethan Nordean who facilitates Proud Boys meetups at Wally’s routinely? Is this representative of what we want in our community?

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