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Mayor’s Message

ur community has been shaken recently as we continue to suffer the effects
of the COVID-19 virus as well as the devasting impact of the death of
OGeorge Floyd in Minneapolis.
His death was disturbing not only in its brutality and lack of humanity but also in the
abuse of a police officer’s power. Our collective conscience was shaken, and the
public outpouring of emotion hit home locally as people took to the streets in protest.
So many of our community are angry and grieving at the loss of too many black lives.
Like my colleagues on the City Commission and across the country, I recognize the
need to do more to combat racism within law enforcement and to retool use-of-force
policies with common-sense limits. We also need to look at ourselves and consider
how racism permeates our own way of life.
There is no question we have fallen short in our guiding principle of equal justice for
all in America.
The discussion that we must undertake may make some uncomfortable and others
Dean Trantalis defensive, but answers must be found if we are to live up the standards that we hold
Mayor, dear as citizens of a civilized society.
City of Fort Lauderdale
As mayor, I recently signed the Obama Foundation’s pledge to undertake
meaningful reform to ensure the deaths of people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor
Office of the Mayor and Ahmaud Arbery are not in vain.
City Hall, 8th Floor I was proud to join mayors from Atlanta and Dallas to Chattanooga and Reno in
100 N Andrews Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 this pledge. The group of mayors is promising to review use-of-force policies,
954.828.5314 engage the city in discussion by including a diverse range of input and experiences,
dtrantalis@fortlauderdale.gov report findings for review and feedback, and then reform existing policies based on
the findings.
The vast majority of police officers who serve our community do an outstanding job.
And, we have a great base to build from locally as we look at the issues in front of us.
In recent years, the city made progress in establishing a good department and
instituting some strong, forward-thinking policies, but we know we still have work to do.
Recent events illustrate there is room for improvement.
It was reprehensible for a police officer to shove a kneeling protester who had her
hands in the air. He escalated a tense situation that was developing after a peaceful
protest ended downtown. I also apologized to LaToya Ratlieff, a Delray Beach
Office Contact resident attending the protest. Although she is seen in videos conducting herself
Scott Wyman peacefully, Ms. Ratlieff was seriously injured when she was struck in the head with a
Assistant to the Mayor
swyman@fortlauderdale.gov rubber bullet fired by a police officer.
954.828.5004
The efforts we are beginning to undertake do not involve abolishing or defunding the
Police Department. The work of law enforcement is vital to a civil society – whether it
is preventing a drunk driver from causing mayhem or catching a person who robbed
a convenience store or helping restore order after a devastating hurricane.
What we seek is meaningful reform. Let’s work as a community so we can create better
practices and policies and improve recruitment, training and retention programs.
The police chief has taken a first step by adding to his department’s rules an
obligation that officers must intervene if they see bad conduct by a colleague.
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE (continued pg. 12)

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