Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan / File photo
Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan this week responded to the recent national police-related killings of blacks that led to ambush attacks on officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.
In a statement read during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Jordan said the public can rest assured that all Fayetteville officers have appropriate training in use-of-force and equal treatment of residents.
Jordan said he’s proud of the Fayetteville police force, but told the crowd he is seeking guidance in helping the city recruit a more diverse field of officers.
“We are fortunate and blessed in Fayetteville to have the overwhelming support of our community,” Jordan said before attending a meeting with area leaders on Tuesday to discuss community relations with law enforcement. “We strive to work together to educate one another on issues, to continuously improve our processes, realizing that in our partnership-based government we need input and support from all our citizens.”
Jordan, along with Fayetteville Police Chief Greg Tabor and Deputy Chief Mike Reynolds, joined other Northwest Arkansas mayors, law enforcement officers, and residents for the open house-style meeting held in the Springdale City Administration Building.
“Instances of brutality that have been occurring elsewhere have no place in our community,” said Jordan.
Read Jordan’s full statement below:
Tragic events in the situations in Minnesota, Louisiana, Dallas, and Baton Rouge again over the weekend leave me to understand one thing…
Everybody wants to go home to their families at the end of the day. All lives matter. All people matter. We need to focus our efforts on being a peaceful community. From black lives to the lives of our police, to the lives of our LGBT community, our Latino families, and those of our non-native Americans as well. For all of our families, all lives matter.
As Mayor, I believe in, and work every day to establish a culture in Fayetteville of fairness and equality to all. We govern with an open door, an open mind, and an open heart, believing that our diversity is our strength and inclusion of all is the only way to have a truly functional and welcoming community.
I am proud of our police force for their proactive approach to policies and protocols and best practices in handling situations such as those we have seen in the news recently.
I have met with and will continue to meet with leaders in our community on a regular basis to ask their assistance in helping us with our diversity in recruitment so that our police force mirrors the types of diversity we see in our community.
I want to assure you that all officers have appropriate training in use of force and bias-based diversity training, for all people, regardless of skin color, religious beliefs, their dress, or who they love.
Instances of brutality that have been occurring elsewhere have no place in our community.
In a time where it seems that all we see around us is hate and violence, I see things differently. To quote Martin Luther King today, I will leave you with this:
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”
