The Greensboro Police Officers Association issued a press release on Thursday, October 14 titled, “The Greensboro Police Department (GPD) is under attack.

The statement notes that the DA Young office was almost shot on Monday, October 11 while trying to stop traffic. And that last year, two GPD officers were the target of premeditated attacks. He says: “In other words, they were lured to a location, ambushed and / or taken by an intentional surprise attack. But, for the training, ingenuity, and swift and proper action of the GPD, officers were susceptible to being killed while just doing their job. The GPD is one of the top-rated police departments in the state of North and Southeast Carolina. The GPOA expresses its frustration and disbelief at the lack of outcry against the attack on the police and the lack of support for our officers.

The statement calls on Greensboro executives to make public statements in support of the GPD and condemning both physical and verbal attacks on GPD agents.

He also calls on Greensboro City Council to adequately fund the police department, noting that GPD officers leave “every week for nearby and local police departments where they face much less danger on a daily basis, a workload. much smaller and the same (and often more) compensation. The GPD is currently understaffed by around 100 agents!

The statement also called for body-worn camera videos to be made public, “not just edited parts taken out of context.”

He says: “We trust citizens (even without basic law enforcement training) to view these images for themselves and draw their own conclusions. As a result, the GPOA has consistently demanded, demanded, and demanded from the court the public release of ALL body-worn camera footage so that it can be viewed, unaltered, by the public.

Currently, state law prohibits the release to the public of camera footage worn by a police force without a court order. Greensboro City Council recently had to go to court for permission to view police body camera footage that is evidence in the wrongful death lawsuit that Marcus Deon Smith’s parents have brought against the city.