Categories: Editorials

Letter From The Mayor: A Message To The San Marcos Community

EDITORIAL NOTE
Mayor Jane Hughson released the following message to the community Wednesday, June 3, in response to the local, state and national protests against police brutality and the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of four former Minneapolis Police Officers.

Good evening, San Marcos.

This is your Mayor, Jane Hughson. Like so many of you, I was outraged as I witnessed the horrific killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

To be a police officer in America is to assume responsibility for the safety of one’s community, and to abuse the power of the badge to endanger, and in this case kill, a resident is inexcusable.

I’m still shaken, and frankly, I’m angry.

Many of you are participating in various types of peaceful protests here in San Marcos to make your voices heard. To those of you speaking, kneeling, and marching, I am listening, and I hear you.

You are demanding justice, reform, and dignity for all American lives, both in Minneapolis and in towns across America.

We are in a pivotal moment of our nation’s history, and we have an opportunity to begin a real dialogue and foster a better, more secure future for all San Marcos residents.

I am grateful that our peaceful demonstrations have been just that, peaceful.

When I learned about the details of this appalling event, my thoughts naturally turned to the fine men and women that serve in the San Marcos Police Department and who choose to put on the uniform in order to protect our residents. 

These brave officers have my respect and support, and they are part of a system of accountability and transparency to ensure that bad actors are never allowed to fly under the radar.

I spoke with Interim Police Chief Bob Klett to learn more about training and policies dedicated to the use of force, and I was very pleased with what I confirmed.

First and foremost, the use of a knee to the neck during an arrest is never taught nor tolerated.

All restraints that our officers are trained to use ensure that a suspect is able to breathe freely.

Officers are trained to deescalate a situation and provide a person with any recovery methods they may require, such as water, medical attention, or a mental health officer for support.

Our Police Department has adopted a standard for the use of force that is more restrictive than the average department requirements and provides that an officer use only the force that is reasonably necessary to effectively bring an incident under control while protecting the lives of the officer and civilians.

Furthermore, the SMPD has a publicly manned Chief’s Advisory Board that serves as a liaison between the police and the public (in addition to other outreach efforts), reviews summary information on citizen complaints, and gives feedback on certain policies affecting the community under consideration by the police department.

I know as well as anyone that, despite our best efforts, no system is foolproof, and we must continually review our policies to ensure they continue to serve our community.

That is why, as Mayor, I am committed to maintaining common-sense policies that preserve the right to dignity, freedom, and safety for all San Marcos residents.

I know many of you are hurting, angry, feeling helpless, and may be worried about safety.

Please rest assured that your concerns are valid; you are being heard, and you are essential to the fabric of this community.

I am proud to serve as your Mayor. Thank you for continuing to make San Marcos Stronger Together. 

~ Mayor Jane Hughson

 

View Comments

  • I appreciate this well balanced response from our Mayor. We have a fantastic police force in SMPD. Should some malcontents wish to disrupt our peace, I hope the SMPD will still have the Mayor's support to do what is necessary to protect ALL the citizens of San Marcos.

    • This is a decent start but that's all it is. We ALL need more and will ask for more.

  • It its been more than just a feeble start ,to serve and protect the families and citizens here in our community is one of the tuffest job that our officers could ever have they put their life on the line each and every day that they suit up for work not knowing if they're going to get back home to the love one's that they call family we've had some terrible tragedies take place to our hard working police officers and there families and our community has taken the impact of their deaths of our fallen officer's .so as a city, community we should be grateful that we've got some of the best policemen and women on the payroll and that they take a lot of pride and joy to stick their necks out to insure that we have the safest an greatest place to raise our families in .I have greatest respect to all of our hard working police officers and all the employees of city and county of San Marcos,Texas.
    Y'all keep us and our love one's safe and out of harm's way you keep the crime rate down as our prayer's go up, so Keep up the good work and God Bless All Of You ! And a special thanks to you Mayor for your hard work also.have a blessed day

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