"I would like to extend an apology first and foremost to the Nevada City Police Department whom I have the utmost respect for."
That's the first sentence in a lengthy apology posted to Facebook by Nevada City councilwoman Reinette Senum. Shortly after the shooting in Dallas that killed five police officers, Senum wrote a post saying she believed American law enforcement have "been given directives to go out there and kill."
Facing backlash from area police and residents, Senum deleted the post and apologized.
"I have attended many meetings with Chief Tim Foley and have had the privilege of working with him and his officers in the capacity of tending to the homeless, homeless camp cleanups, and city-wide cleanings. In no way did I mean to offend our highly regarded officers with my comments on Facebook," Senum wrote. "I also apologize for using such a broad brush that our local officers felt they were included in my statement."
She continued to say that her intent was not to vilify police forces, but to point out a, "well documented trend that is causing a public backlash towards the police."
She also pointed out in her apology that the Nevada County Scooper, a satirical publication, released a fake article that, "grossly misrepresented what I posted."
"Most people still do not know this is a satirical piece -- shared throughout social media as real -- though I consider it more malicious and intentional misinterpretation of my post than anything," Senum wrote. "In this spoof it stated that I said the police ‘got what they deserved.’ Again, this was a drummed up story penned by an anonymous writer. This begs me to ask, who is this person and what is their motive?"
She closed her apology by saying society can have sympathy for our police while holding them to high standards, as well as the same laws that apply to the average citizen.
"We need to ensure training includes race sensitivity, de-escalation tactics, when and how to make arrests, and how to approach the public on the streets and during traffic stops, as well as prosecute the offending officers," Senum said. "I praise the Dallas police that was targeted and find it unfortunate that the department that was attacked had been making some of the greatest strides in progressive change and revising their training standards. Ultimately, I hope that good can come from this and that a deep conversation ensues."
Since her original post, a petition was created on Change.org to have the councilwoman removed from office. Since Friday, the petition has more than 1,300 signatures. This past May, Tim Ewing, president of the Nevada City Police Officer's Association [NCPOA], submitted a Vote of No Confidence letter to the Nevada City City Council because of past posts on social media after being sworn in as a member of the council.
"Councilmember Senum has painted all law enforcement with a broad brush of alleged corruption and directed systematic murder of innocent civilians," Ewing wrote. "These speculative statements are incendiary and have the propensity to incite violent acts against law enforcement, endangering our local law enforcement, our families and our community as a whole."
The letter ended with the NCPOA demanding for Senum's resignation. ABC10 has reached out to Officer Ewing for comment for an updated comment. He has not yet responded.