June 1 Statement from Police Chief Paul Rolleri

Published on June 01, 2020

Our community, along with so many, is mourning the senseless death of George Floyd. What I saw on that video does not reflect the values of the Alameda Police Department and would not be tolerated by our Department. Over the weekend, there were a number of peaceful protests in the Bay Area demanding justice. We stand with residents wanting to take action to prevent such brutal acts of racial injustice from happening again.

The Alameda Police Department strongly supports the right for people to protest and will do everything we can to facilitate that effort. However, there are other groups that are not associated with the peaceful protesters who are committing violent and illegal acts, including rioting, looting, and burglaries, and those acts that harm our community will not be tolerated. The Alameda Police Department has extra officers and multiple plans in place for the fluid events anticipated over the next several days. We will continue to arrest and prosecute people engaged in criminal activity.

We ask that you stay home during this period of civil unrest. Should a curfew be announced by Alameda County or the City of Alameda, it is critical that we all adhere to these orders. We are incredibly grateful to and for our community. The affection we all have toward Alameda, toward our friends and neighbors, toward our most vulnerable, unites us all. We are coming together to beat COVID-19 and unite now to continue to protect the health and safety of our community.

Paul Rolleri, Alameda Police Chief