When Mayors Respond to Police Brutality in Their Cities

How McKinney's mayor and other city leaders have reacted.

Responses to Injustice - From McKinney's mayor, Brian Loughmiller, to Baltimore's Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, take a look at how these city leaders reacted to violence in their neighborhoods. (Photos from left: Drew Angerer/Getty Images, Andrew Burton/Getty Images, Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

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Responses to Injustice - From McKinney's mayor, Brian Loughmiller, to Baltimore's Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, take a look at how these city leaders reacted to violence in their neighborhoods. (Photos from left: Drew Angerer/Getty Images, Andrew Burton/Getty Images, Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

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Brian Loughmiller, McKinney case - "Having seen the YouTube video I am disturbed and concerned by the incident and actions depicted in the video. Our expectation as a City Council is that our police department and other departments will act professionally and with appropriate restraint relative to the situation they are faced with," said Mayor Brian Loughmiller in a written statement. (Photo: Brandon Brooks via YouTube)

Photo By Photo: Brandon Brooks via Youtube

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Freddie Gray - Baltimore's mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has been under fire for her comments about the unrest in the city following the death of Freddie Gray. "Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who, in a very senseless way, are trying to tear down what so many have fought for," she said in a press conference earlier this week. After state prosecutor Marilyn Mosby announced that charges had been filed against six officers, the mayor said that five of the six were in custody. "No one is above the law in our city," Rawlings-Blake said. "Justice must apply to all of us equally."  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Freddie Gray - Baltimore's mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has been under fire for her comments about the unrest in the city following the death of Freddie Gray. "Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who, in a very senseless way, are trying to tear down what so many have fought for," she said in a press conference earlier this week. After state prosecutor Marilyn Mosby announced that charges had been filed against six officers, the mayor said that five of the six were in custody. "No one is above the law in our city," Rawlings-Blake said. "Justice must apply to all of us equally."  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Bill de Blasio, Eric Garner - New York City's mayor, Bill de Blasio, had a heartfelt response after a grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved in Eric Garner’s death. "I couldn’t help but immediately think what it would mean to me to lose Dante," he said referring to his son. "Life would never be the same for me after. Chirlane and I have had to talk to Dante for years about the dangers that he may face. No family should have to go through what the Garner family went through.” (Photo: Andrew Burt/Getty Images)

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Bill de Blasio, Eric Garner - New York City's mayor, Bill de Blasio, had a heartfelt response after a grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved in Eric Garner’s death. "I couldn’t help but immediately think what it would mean to me to lose Dante," he said referring to his son. "Life would never be the same for me after. Chirlane and I have had to talk to Dante for years about the dangers that he may face. No family should have to go through what the Garner family went through.” (Photo: Andrew Burt/Getty Images)

Keith Summey, Walter Scott - “We let them know how we felt about their loss and how bad it was,” said Summey, the mayor of North Charleston, S.C. “We do not condone wrong. It doesn’t matter who it is.… This has been a horrible tragedy for our community. There have been two families that have been harmed greatly by what occurred.” The mayor announced that he would provide all of his city's officers with cameras.  (Photo: Richard Ellis/Getty Images)

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Keith Summey, Walter Scott - “We let them know how we felt about their loss and how bad it was,” said Summey, the mayor of North Charleston, S.C. “We do not condone wrong. It doesn’t matter who it is.… This has been a horrible tragedy for our community. There have been two families that have been harmed greatly by what occurred.” The mayor announced that he would provide all of his city's officers with cameras.  (Photo: Richard Ellis/Getty Images)

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James Knowles, Michael Brown - After Michael Brown was killed in August 2014, the city's mayor, James Knowles, spoke out on behalf of the city, its residents and racial tension in the area. "There is no racial divide in the city of Ferguson," he said. "That is the perspective of all residents in our city, absolutely." When protests continued for several nights in the city, he defended the actions of the police. "We're having a difficult time, especially at night, discerning between those who wish to peacefully assemble and lawfully protest and those who wish to infiltrate and hide among the people who wish to demonstrate." (Photo: Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

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James Knowles, Michael Brown - After Michael Brown was killed in August 2014, the city's mayor, James Knowles, spoke out on behalf of the city, its residents and racial tension in the area. "There is no racial divide in the city of Ferguson," he said. "That is the perspective of all residents in our city, absolutely." When protests continued for several nights in the city, he defended the actions of the police. "We're having a difficult time, especially at night, discerning between those who wish to peacefully assemble and lawfully protest and those who wish to infiltrate and hide among the people who wish to demonstrate." (Photo: Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

Frank Jackson, Tamir Rice - After lawyers used insensitive language in a response to the lawsuit filed against the city for the death of Tamir Rice, Mayor Frank Jackson apologized to the family. "To protect our defenses, we used words and phrased things in such a way that was very insensitive to the tragedy in general, and to the victim in particular," Jackson said. "It is not part of the character of the city of Cleveland and this administration. We are apologizing to the family and to the citizens of Cleveland for our poor use of those words and our insensitivity." (Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

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Frank Jackson, Tamir Rice - After lawyers used insensitive language in a response to the lawsuit filed against the city for the death of Tamir Rice, Mayor Frank Jackson apologized to the family. "To protect our defenses, we used words and phrased things in such a way that was very insensitive to the tragedy in general, and to the victim in particular," Jackson said. "It is not part of the character of the city of Cleveland and this administration. We are apologizing to the family and to the citizens of Cleveland for our poor use of those words and our insensitivity." (Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Jeff Triplett, Trayvon Martin - The mayor of Sanford, Fla., had wavering confidence in police chief Billy Lee. There were several calls for the chief's resignation and he also received three votes of "no confidence" from three police commissioners. "The unknown in a tragedy will make the heart do crazy things, and we haven't done a good job of getting out in front of that," said Sanford's mayor, Jeff Triplett, after the vote. "I have confidence in him in a lot of ways, and don't have confidence in him in some ways." (Photo: REUTERS /STEVE NESIUS /LANDOV)

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Jeff Triplett, Trayvon Martin - The mayor of Sanford, Fla., had wavering confidence in police chief Billy Lee. There were several calls for the chief's resignation and he also received three votes of "no confidence" from three police commissioners. "The unknown in a tragedy will make the heart do crazy things, and we haven't done a good job of getting out in front of that," said Sanford's mayor, Jeff Triplett, after the vote. "I have confidence in him in a lot of ways, and don't have confidence in him in some ways." (Photo: REUTERS /STEVE NESIUS /LANDOV)

Rudy Giuliani, Amadou Diallo - Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani was highly criticized for his response to the shooting death of Amadou Diallo. "There isn't much more light that we can shed on this because the case is being investigated by the District Attorney and the internal affairs bureau of the Police Department,'' Giuliani said more than 24 hours after Diallo was shot 41 times. ''Quite honestly we don't have any more facts than pretty much you have in the newspapers.'' (Photo: Rob Kim/Getty Images)

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Rudy Giuliani, Amadou Diallo - Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani was highly criticized for his response to the shooting death of Amadou Diallo. "There isn't much more light that we can shed on this because the case is being investigated by the District Attorney and the internal affairs bureau of the Police Department,'' Giuliani said more than 24 hours after Diallo was shot 41 times. ''Quite honestly we don't have any more facts than pretty much you have in the newspapers.'' (Photo: Rob Kim/Getty Images)

Michael Bloomberg, Sean Bell - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was "disturbed" by the death of Sean Bell, an unarmed Black man who was killed just hours before his wedding. “I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired, but that’s up to the investigation to find out what really happened,” Bloomberg said at a news conference after Sean Bell was shot 50 times by police officers.  ( Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Michael Bloomberg, Sean Bell - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was "disturbed" by the death of Sean Bell, an unarmed Black man who was killed just hours before his wedding. “I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired, but that’s up to the investigation to find out what really happened,” Bloomberg said at a news conference after Sean Bell was shot 50 times by police officers.  ( Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Tom Bradley, Los Angeles - After Rodney King was brutally beaten by LAPD cops, Mayor Tom Bradley started a commission to investigate practices in the city’s police force and make recommendations for reform. “There appears to be a dangerous trend of racially motivated incidents running through at least some segments of the Police Department,” Bradley said. The mayor asked the chief of police, Daryl Gates, to resign. Gates initially refused, but later resigned in June 1992. (Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)

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Tom Bradley, Los Angeles - After Rodney King was brutally beaten by LAPD cops, Mayor Tom Bradley started a commission to investigate practices in the city’s police force and make recommendations for reform. “There appears to be a dangerous trend of racially motivated incidents running through at least some segments of the Police Department,” Bradley said. The mayor asked the chief of police, Daryl Gates, to resign. Gates initially refused, but later resigned in June 1992. (Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)