Dakota Times

Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie is looking for ways to move forward after the death of George Floyd, Sun This Week reported. 

“(We are) suffering the pains of what we are seeing in Minneapolis and across the metropolitan area that the actions of one can harm so many of us,” Leslie told Sun This Week. “It’s just been very, very difficult for us.”

After the death of African American Isak Aden by law enforcement last year, Eagan, Burnsville and Bloomington saw several protests. Now, with Floyd's death, the relationship between the police and the community, specifically the African American community, is strained, Sun This Week reported. 

But Leslie is working toward fixing the the issue of African Americans dying at the hands of law enforcement.

“We have to fix the issue of why these things are happening,” Leslie told Sun This Week. 

The relationship law enforcement has with the community also needs to be fixed. 

“You should not be afraid of the me. You should not be afraid of the uniform," Leslie told Sun This Week. "We are human beings doing a job you have asked us to do."