ESCONDIDOESCONDIDO — As protests calling for police reform and racial justice continue around the nation, the police chief and mayor of Escondido knelt with about 200 demonstrators at City Hall on Wednesday in a symbol of unity and healing.
“We’re going to try to have a different kind of event today,” Laura Hunter of Escondido Indivisible said to about 200 people gathered at noon on a hot June day. “A solemn event where we can reflect on where we are and where we need to go as individuals and a society.”
The demonstration was in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while arresting him. But Hunter, one of the organizers of the Escondido event, made it clear the gathering was about much broader issues.
“We kneel today in solidarity to Mr. George Floyd who was brutally murdered last week,” she said. “We kneel today to recognize that tragically, this was not an isolated incident, and we desperately need systemic changes in how our society works. We must recognize that we all play a part in this broken system, and we have to change.”
As a bell rang nine times, symbolic of the minutes the officer had his knee on Floyd, Hunter and others took a knee and bowed in silence. Among those ing in was Escondido Police Chief Ed Varso.
“What happened to Mr. George Floyd was awful, and it was even that much more despicable because it was an act carried out by police officers,” he said later. “I don’t represent that and my entire police department doesn’t represent that, and I’m standing here on behalf of my department to make sure the community understands that we are all together in this, we all condemn what happened to Mr. Floyd.
“It should never have happened,” he said. “It was wrong and I’m glad they’re being held able for it.”
Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with third-degree murdered after public outrage erupted. On Wednesday, the charge against him was increased to second-degree murder, and the three officers who were with him were charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Varso and at least one other officer also took a knee with protesters at a Monday protest at the Escondido Police Department headquarters. He said he spoke with community residents who shared their concerns, and he thanked people who had attended.
“Let’s keep the conversation going,” he said. “Let’s keep things peaceful.”
Yuself Miller from the Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego was among those who spoke outside City Hall and said the issue they were addressing was not new.
“We need you here constantly,” he said. “There are things going on all the time. We need police reform.”
Miller said the problem wasn’t individual officers, but police practices and culture.
“It should not be a war of us against them,” he said. “It should be all of us together for a better future for all of us.”
He also condemned people who were using the social outrage as an opportunity to loot.
“You can say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but what does Black Lives Matter have to do with you with a TV set in your hand?” Miller said. “We don’t want Escondido torn down. We don’t want Escondido burned up. We don’t want our officers attacked. We don’t want that here in Escondido.”
Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara addressed the crowd and said he was appalled at seeing video of Floyd’s death.
“I said to myself, ‘Was this the country I want to live in?’ And the answer was no, it’s not,” he said. “And we need to do something about it.”
McNamara said more social justice rallies should be held until things change.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “We have good police officers here. We have a good community. And we’re not going to let outsiders ruin it. We’re going to stay together.”
City Councilwoman Olga Diaz called for reforms to police and city hiring practices and other changes.
Diaz called for the collection and study of racial statistics in traffic stops, hiring of more women and diverse applicants in law enforcement, requirements of police to have a degree in sociology or psychology, city input in hiring police chiefs and captains and fewer hires with military backgrounds.
“This is not a war zone,” she said, adding that first-responders should be trained in de-escalation techniques.
The Rev. Meg Decker of Trinity Episcopal Church in Escondido asked people to write their pledge to what they will do to make a better future, and to stick their notes on a City Hall door. Notes left on the door included, “Pray for peace,” “Vote for justice and peace,” and “I will get more informed and more involved to make Escondido better and better.”
San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, Interfaith Community Services Chief Executive Officer Greg Anglea, of the American Indian Movement, San Diego and monks from the Deer Park Buddhist Monastery also attended the demonstration.
