--- description: The International Association of Chiefs of Police president apologized for the "historical mistreatment of communities of color" title: Police Chiefs Apologize for Past Injustices: Read the Speech image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Civil Rights](/tag/civil-rights/) ## Civil Rights Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Police Group Apologizes for Law Enforcement's History as 'Face of Oppression.' Read the Speech Here  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Oct 18, 2016 6:09 PM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Oct 18, 2016 6:09 PM CUT The president of the one of the nation’s largest police organizations [apologized](http://time.com/4534401/police-apology-minorities-black-iacp-terrence-cunningham/ "undefined") on Monday “for the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in society’s historical mistreatment of communities of color.” Terrence M. Cunningham, the president of the [International Association of Chiefs of Police](http://www.iacp.org/ "undefined") (IACP), who also leads the Wellesley Police Department in Massachusetts, delivered the following speech at the group’s annual conference in San Diego. In his remarks, he acknowledged the role that police have sometimes played as the “face of oppression” in American history, when the laws they have upheld have not been just ones. The remarks have been [seen](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the%5Fslatest/2016/10/17/head%5Fof%5Fpolice%5Fchiefs%5Fgroup%5Fapologizes%5Ffor%5Fhistorical%5Fmistreatment%5Fof%5Fcommunities.html "undefined") as an effort to begin to rebuild trust between law enforcement and minority populations in light of highly publicized fatal shootings of African-American men in [North Carolina](http://time.com/4529988/keith-lamont-scott-autopsy/ "undefined") and [Minnesota](http://time.com/4397086/minnesota-shooting-philando-castile-role-model-school/ "undefined") and police officers in [Baton Rouge](http://time.com/4416692/baton-rouge-nonstop-tragedies/ "undefined") and [Dallas](http://time.com/4411617/police-change-tactics-baton-rouge-shooting/ "undefined") within the last six months. Here is Cunningham’s speech in full: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4535103/historical-mistreatment-police-chiefs-african-americans-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4535103/historical-mistreatment-police-chiefs-african-americans-speech/"},"headline":"Police Group Apologizes for Law Enforcement's History as 'Face of Oppression.' Read the Speech Here","datePublished":"2016-10-18T18:09:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:15:40.933Z","description":"\"While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future\"","url":"https://time.com/4535103/historical-mistreatment-police-chiefs-african-americans-speech/","keywords":["Civil Rights","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/civil-rights/","name":"Civil Rights"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4535103/historical-mistreatment-police-chiefs-african-americans-speech/","name":"Police Group Apologizes for Law Enforcement's History as 'Face of Oppression.' Read the Speech Here"}}]}] ```