An afternoon of peaceful protests nearly one week after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police turned violent Saturday night in Downtown Toledo. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz believes the protests turned ugly due to out of town Antifa instigators. Mayor Kapszukiewicz spoke about these claims, and the response by Toledo Police, on The Scott Sands Show -- click here to listen with our free iHeartRadio app.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz issued the following statement today:
Today, I was joined by Chief George Kral to discuss the events of this weekend and to take the initial steps for our city to move forward and to be better. Toledo had a rough night on Saturday, but when you compare what happened here to what is happening in so many other American cities right now, I know that things could have been a lot worse.
The reason we were able to avoid the worst of what other cities are experiencing is because Toledo has a good Police Department and good citizens. More often than not, we get things right in Toledo – but we know we can be even better.
The peaceful protests of this weekend were welcomed and an important part of our political process. I heard you. I saw you. I joined you.
However, what happened to change the peaceful nature of these events must be examined. Of course I have seen social media reports. I am asking citizens who have opinions about what they saw on Saturday to submit them in writing to my office for review and investigation. You can submit your first-hand account and photographs or videos to TPDconcerns@toledo.oh.gov or by going to the Engage Toledo app.
As we work to continue to build trust and promote accountability on policing, I announced several reforms that will be implemented to increase the transparency on which healthy police-community relations is based.
I am committed to improvements being made to the Civilian Police Review Board. All current members' terms will expire in the next 30 days. I am seeking resumes of those who wish to be considered for appointment to this board and want to help us make positive changes. Email your interest to TPDconcerns@toledo.oh.gov.
In addition, I announced today that the Internal Affairs Department of Toledo Police will be moved from the Safety Building to a neutral location. This will allow those who want to make a complaint against the police more comfortable in doing so. We are also going to give the public access to the training we offer our officers on sensitivity and diversity and de-escalation tactics.
Finally, I have placed a link on the City of Toledo website that has the Toledo Police Department operations manual, recent community survey, the Bias Free Policing Review, Use of Force continuum, and much more.
Thank you, Toledo, for your care and concern for what is happening in our country right now. Thank you for peacefully using your voices toward a better world for all of us.