Marco Island Council approves resolution supporting its police amid nationwide protests

Marco Island City Council approved unanimously on Wednesday a resolution supporting its police department amid nationwide protests against police violence.

"I think they deserve to be recognized especially when no matter what time of the day  you put the TV on you see all over the country what's going on," said City Councilor Victor Rios, who proposed the resolution.

Rios said earlier this month he is referring to the instances where protests against police violence have become violent.

"Every time they go out and put a uniform on, I'm sure your wives, husbands and children are not sure that you are coming back," he said.

In an email later Wednesday night, Police Chief Tracy L. Frazzano thanked the council for its support.

"It’s an honor for every member of our Police Department to serve our residents and this great city," Frazzano wrote.

The city hired Frazzano last year to replace former Chief Al Schettino after he was forced to retire following multiple incidents like officers having sex on duty and the employment of an officer the state attorney’s office deemed not credible to be called as a witness in a criminal trial, the Naples Daily News reported June 19.

Thousands of protests took place across the United States, including on Marco, after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed in police custody in Minneapolis in May and have reignited after Jacob Blake, another Black man, was shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last month.

Blake's attorney said Blake is alive but paralyzed from the waist down, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Aug. 25.

In case you missed it:Marco Island Council may pass resolution supporting its police amid nationwide protests

Rios said on Sept. 2 the resolution is not against any person or group.

"This is a positive message," he said. "It's not criticizing or condemning anything."

The resolution does not directly reference these protests but rather states that "every day law enforcement officers throughout the nation face the threat of violence and danger, routinely putting their lives in jeopardy to defend others."

It also commends recent "changes in policy and policing" within MIPD including the use of the anti-opioid drug Narcan, "the enhancement of professional development opportunities and the pursuit of agency-wide accreditation."

Contact Omar at omar.rodriguezortiz@naplesnews.com, and follow him on Twitter as @Omar_fromPR. Support his work by subscribing to Naples Daily News.