In recognition of recent events, the Richardson City Council took up discussion on racial inequity and expectations of municipal employees during their regularly scheduled Monday evening meeting, June 8.
During the discussion, the Council adopted the following statement:
On behalf of the entire City of Richardson, the Mayor and City Council wish to share the following statement with our community:
As city leaders we stand with our community and nation in condemning incidents of violence and unequivocally wish to make clear that racism has no place in our city, or society. Due to recent events, we also wish to reinforce our steadfast commitment to maintaining a best-in-class Police Department that consistently applies humane and fair policing standards. We support our high standards and levels of service for our first responders by providing state-of-the-art facilities and training, and by supporting community policing practices to reflect our community’s deeply held values.
Likewise, every member of our municipal staff is expected to consistently deliver exceptional service, dependability, community engagement and compassion in every interaction with the people they serve. If we ever fail to meet this high standard, we welcome having it called to our attention, and we pledge to take appropriate action. It is our goal to better lead and serve by actively listening to our community’s diverse voices.
Richardson is a strong, amazingly diverse city that has deservedly earned recognition for our inclusiveness and compassion. We are a community known for our spirit of volunteerism and servant leadership, and we are a place where the Golden Rule is both practiced and appreciated as evident in our Vision Statement, which calls for Richardson to be, “a clean, safe, vibrant and inclusive community.”
We stand together in our commitment to justice, peace, kindness and understanding, in order to be the best possible civil servants we can be. We also hold dear the position that the City of Richardson municipal government is here to serve everyone, no matter who they are.
Later this month the Council will also receive an update from Richardson Police Chief Jim Spivey related to the Richardson Police Department’s policy on use of force in the apprehension of suspects.
