MI Sheriff: As Police, We Have to ‘Start the Conversation,’ ‘There Should Be No Such Thing as a Bad Cop’

On Monday’s “CNN Tonight,” Genesee County, MI Sheriff Chris Swanson, who walked with protesters in his county, said that he is heartbroken over violence and looting, the protesters who are advocating for George Floyd need to be listened to and focused on, and said that “there should be no such thing as a bad cop” and police “have to be the ones who start the conversation, take the initiative, and bring it to the street.”

Swanson said, “You’ve got to listen to the people and walk with them. I’m telling you. It starts from the grassroots.”

He added that in his county, “we had protesters, who remembered the message of George Floyd. … That’s the focus that we had that day. We have been blessed to have community leaders that saw the message, that acted, and it set the tone across the nation. My heart breaks for those cities. You know, your report on New York City. We’re being watched by the entire world. And we are one nation, one blood, and I’m going to tell you, it’s the protestors who put that voice out that needed to be heard. We can not lose that focus.”

Swanson further stated, “We have to be held to the highest standard. Law enforcement can stop calling wrongs right. We have to do the right thing. There should be no such thing as a bad cop. Because if they’re bad, they shouldn’t be the police. And we need to root those people out. And that means terminations. That means charges if they do wrong. The public expects more. George Floyd changed American policing, and that’s why people want to be talked to. That’s why they want to be listened to. And it starts with the police, Don. We have to be the ones who start the conversation, take the initiative, and bring it to the street.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett