Palm Springs Police Chief calls for open conversations on racism in the community & police department

Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes released a statement on Facebook Friday afternoon addressing the ongoing discussions about racism in the community and police department.

This was one of the big topics of conversation during Thursday's Palm Springs City Council meeting. It all stemmed from a letter Palm Springs Mayor Pro-Tem Christy Holstege sent to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors discussing the "ongoing history of police brutality directed at the black communities and communities of color."

The Palm Springs Police Officers Association took offense slammed the letter, writing they will not "stand idly while those city leaders vilify our officers and our department."

During Thursday's meeting, councilmembers called for a reconciliation of its past and that the city must acknowledge and address historical racist policies, and work to end ongoing discrimination.

The association's president told News Channel 3 racism isn't currently an issue the police department needs to address.

Watch: ‘It must be acknowledged’: Palm Springs seeks to reconcile racist past

Chief Reyes echoed those sentiments the following day in a message to the community.

"We must discuss our history to have a better understanding and we must be willing to discuss current real or perceived experiences of racism within our community and police department. This must occur if we have any hope for meaningful change," Reyes wrote.

The council announced there will be a series of planned conversations between leaders and the community on this topic. Chief Reyes writes that the conversations will be successful if people are "open to understanding each other."

"This approach will provide us all an opportunity to recognize and hopefully understand the bias that exists in all of us and enable us all to improve our cultural competency," Chief Reyes writes.

Chief Reyes noted that in order to maintain a health community, there needs to be mutual trust between police, city government and the community.

Chief Reyes has been apart of many discussions regarding police and the community. He was right in the center of last week's "Enough is Enough" protest in Palm Springs attended by nearly a thousand people.

Read: Here’s what valley police chiefs say needs to change in their departments

Read Chief Reyes' full message below: