What happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis was wrong.  It is inescapable that Mr. Floyd’s tragic death and other events directly or indirectly involving law enforcement and persons of color affect our community here in Lancaster.  We have our own history as a community that we have been proactively addressing over the last two years.

Because actions speak louder than words, we want to make sure you know what we have been focused on over the past two years in the City of Lancaster.

·         Convened a Community Police Working Group to focus on strengthening Community & Police Relationships – and this group continues to guide and influence this work.

·         Revised the Use of Force Policy and conducted further de-escalation and other training for our officers.

·         Implemented utilization of body cameras and used footage to address training gaps individually and collectively.

·         Adopted and continue to increase the availability and utilization of language access tools to ensure the entirety of our community is served.

·         Partnered with NAACP in recruiting and test preparation efforts.

·         Reorganized the Bureau of Police to include a 3-member Community Engagement department

·         Hired the first Police Social Worker to connect those we serve with social service agencies who are better equipped to assist.

·         Combined various sources of data to make data-informed and more proactive decisions.

·         Fired and or employed other corrective measures among officers that have not upheld City policy or values.

In the midst of this work, we have cultivated and renewed relationships within our community and have had hard, honest conversations about trust, mutual respect, and safety.  While COVID has slowed down the efforts of the Community Police Working Group – we remain committed.

We also recognize that these incidents do not define every police officer and that the vast majority are disgusted by the unnecessary loss of life.  We appreciate, and are humbled by, the opportunity to serve this community and will continue to support the brave men and women in our police bureau AND our community.  We ask for your continued support and engagement in making Lancaster a stronger and more equitable city, block by block.  It’s going to take all of us working together toward that goal.

·         Mayor Danene Sorace & Chief Jarrad Berkihiser