Joint Statement on the Death of George Floyd

May 31, 2020 

Dear Melrose Community:

We are deeply saddened and outraged by the death of George Floyd. We grieve with his family, his friends, and his community as they try to make sense out of his brutal, indefensible death. We all would like to believe that such a tragedy would not occur in our country today. We want to believe that racism is part of our past but not our present or our future.  We want to believe, but we cannot. The reality is that racism and inequality are facts of life in America. The reality is that there are men, women and children that do not feel safe in their own hometowns and in their own neighborhoods. And the reality is that nobody is safe until we are all safe.

We do not have all the answers, but we do know where to begin. We need to begin the hard and uncomfortable work necessary to confront our own implicit biases and our institutional biases.   We need to have difficult conversations with ourselves, our family and friends, and those in the powerful positions who guard the status quo. 

In the coming weeks, we will work together - city, schools, police, and community - to develop an action plan for the City of Melrose to confront this uncomfortable reality.  In the meantime, we make this commitment. The Melrose Police Department will redouble its proven commitment to community policing and its protection of all our residents. The Melrose Public Schools will redouble its commitment to be a safe and welcoming environment for all our students.  The City of Melrose will redouble its commitment to achieve its goal of being One Community Open to All.

We are only as strong as our most vulnerable, and it will take all of us, working together, to make things right and to live up to our ideals. Let’s get to work.

Sincerely,

Paul A. Brodeur                           Cyndy S. Taymore                          Michael L. Lyle
Mayor                                            Superintendent of Schools              Melrose Police Department