KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There is “no room for racism” in Missouri, according to Gov. Mike Parson.
“If we are truly to make a difference in our society, it’s going to take all of us listening to one another and working together for a greater cause,” Parson said during a press conference on Tuesday.
He also thanked protesters – who have taken to the streets statewide in response to George Floyd’s death – for “peacefully pushing for change.” Such protests, according to Parson, are how voices can be heard.
While Parson said that Floyd’s death was a “tragedy,” – now-ex-officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, which caused Floyd’s death in police custody – the majority of officers “do the job they should be doing day in and day out.” Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder.
“Every day though police officers go out there and the large, large majority of them, 99 percent plus, do the job they should be doing day in and day out,” Parson said.
He pointed toward law enforcement responses to tornadoes within the state and when a duck boat capsized in Branson, killing 17 people, as examples, also noting that 38 law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty in the past 50 weeks.
“Doing away with police officers and law enforcement officers is not an answer for anything,” Parson said, in reference to discussions arising nationwide as Minneapolis council members seek to defund the city’s police department. “You want to change the way we do business? You want to make things better? We can all do better. I can do better as governor. Law enforcement, never hurts to learn, can do better also.”
He also said trying to blame all law enforcement “for some bad actors” is not the answer.
“It’s not the answer,” Parson said. “To get rid of the bad operators is the answer. To figure out how we can do better, we need to have that discussion.”
Parson is expected to meet Thursday with community leaders from Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia.
Part of Parson’s response, he said, would be “education for young people.”
“It will include how you get them an education? How do you give them the ability to get a job? Not more free stuff,” he said. “Not more government programs. How do you really change society? And for us to do that, that’s what it’ll take. It’ll take governors sitting down with people in communities.”
