SAN DIEGO — The president of a group representing tens of thousands of law enforcement officers on Monday apologized for historic mistreatment of minorities in the United States, calling it a “dark side of our shared history” that must be acknowledged and overcome.
Terrence Cunningham, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, told officials at the group’s annual conference that police have historically been a face of oppression in enforcing laws that ensure legalized discrimination and denial of basic rights.
Cunningham, who is police chief of overwhelmingly white Wellesley, Mass., received a standing ovation for his remarks on race relations, which came just before he introduced U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who largely avoided the topic.
