Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla has released a lengthy statement weighing in on the murder of George Floyd, indicating that “there will be more George Floyds in the future” unless actions are taken to address racial disparities.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Racism and racial bias are both conscious and unconscious. Many Americans across the country are protesting for good reason: an innocent black man was killed in cold blood by a police officer for no reason whatsoever,” Bhalla wrote on Facebook yesterday.
“This is unacceptable and all of the officers that played a role should be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. None of this, however, will bring George Floyd back, or lessen the pain and suffering of his family and friends.”
He continued that protests alone will not solve the greater issues involving racial disparities.
“Unless we proactively address and correct the underlying causes of this murder, there will be more George Floyds in the future,” Bhalla said.
“Unless we have honest conversations which translate into concrete action, racial disparities afflicting African-Americans will continue to persist. Unless we have more African-Americans in law enforcement and position of political authority, justice will be continue to be delayed and denied.”
The mayor concluded by commending Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante and the Hoboken Police Department, noting that it’s been over six year since an excessive force or racial influenced policing lawsuit has been filed against them.
A Black Lives Matter protest at the Maxwell Place Park in Hoboken is currently scheduled for Friday, June 5th at 1 p.m.
I think a video interfaith prayer service is nice.
Most people would agree that religious leaders have not been the problem.
Do you think if they had an video conference of religious leaders in New York City that it would not have been trashed and looted for the past two nights ?
Pray for peace but plan for the riots.
The St. Patrick’s Parade in Hoboken was a never the problem. What happened after it was.
Hoboken police could not handle the inebriated twenty somethings causing problems on the streets without calling in law enforcement and even then the chaos was painful. That would be child’s play compared to what we see playing out in NYC and other cities. Much like the St. Patrick’s Parade bar crawls who wanted to avoid any repercussions for their actions, the organizers of Friday’s protest want to be anonymous and Mayor Bhalla is helping them to keep their identities secret .
Don’t worry, the Chief will tweet the riots away