City Manager Mark Ralph: I’ll say maybe just a few things, and Chief, I’ll let you maybe add to it if you’d like. I too have been part of local government for over 30 years, and I’ve enjoyed a pretty positive relationship in every city I’ve ever been in with the police department. But I think I’m most proud of the City of Littleton. I think the chief is correct when he talks about a very positive culture that he and the command staff have nurtured. I think the relationship that the city has with the police association is perhaps one of the most constructive I’ve ever been associated with. I also would say that the level of interest, a part of city council historically has been very deep.
I think we all recognize that perhaps the most important service that any city can provide to its citizens is the police service. That’s not to say that we don’t have something to learn. I think that’s the purpose of this telephone town hall is an opportunity for people to ask questions. I hope you’ve heard tonight that Chief Stephens and certainly the entire department is open to comments and looks for opportunities for improvement. So with that, I would really just like to thank our Chief and the command staff here this evening for agreeing to do this. This was quite honestly at my request on the city council that we just have an opportunity just based on current events. I hope our citizens had an opportunity to participate and enjoy this. I know that our city council is going to spend some time next week debriefing this telephone town hall. Unless there’s anything else, Chief.
Chief Douglas Stephens: Again, I’d just like to say thank you for this opportunity. A lot of people were asking me before this, “Are you worried? Are you nervous?” I’m like, “No, I’m not.” I’ve done this a lot with Littleton community members, and they’re always amazing, very respectful, and they ask amazing questions. They’re very educated and on what we do and what society wants. So we really appreciate the opportunity to share information. Again, don’t rely on other sources when you can come to the main source on what we do and what we’re thinking and what we’re operating on. So toward that end, again, thank you to everyone, and again, I cannot say enough about the support that our community offers our officers. That support gives us the legitimacy to do our jobs. Without that support, we would be unable to do so. I think you’ll see that in other places, and thank goodness, we don’t have that here.
I want to thank the men and women at the Littleton Police Department for the amazing job they do every day and every night. They’re always there. They’re always willing to help, and we will do everything we can to nourish that relationship we have with our community, which allows us to do what we do, and they are true professionals, and I’m proud of each and every one of them. Then also, I just want to let everyone know that… I’m guessing there are quite a few people who did not get their questions answered since day one of this national awareness that has occurred. I’ve received many emails. I will respond to every single one personally.
So if you have questions that you did not get answered that you want answered, I will make this promise to you that I will answer each one of your emails personally. Just send them. You can link to me through our website. I can be found on there. That’s probably the easiest way to do it. Send me an email. If I get a ton of them, it’s going to take me a little while to respond, but you know what, that’s my job. Anything I can do to increase transparency for what we do, anything I can do to provide the tools and training and culture that our officers need to succeed, we’ll do it. What we did here tonight and what I can do in the future to promote our profession will do. So thank you everyone for taking the opportunity to talk with me, and thank you Andy Smith, division chief for your incredible input tonight. Gene, always, yes, thank you. So thank you.