Chief Jon Poletski took his thoughts about recent political divisions surrounding policing to social media with a statement on Facebook to the community.

Saying quote, “the Anderson Police Department (ADP) will not cave to the special interest groups trying to destroy the honor of this great profession.”

And while he won’t address which special groups, he says it's not targeted at any specific local groups.

“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory on what groups I am talking about,” said Chief Poletski. “There are plenty of groups out there. And, like I said, they aren't just local groups; they are nationwide groups that are going after law enforcement and trying to defund or do different things out there. And that is something I don’t stand for."

Chief Poletski says this message was not directed towards his department - but rather to law enforcement as a whole. He says he's worried a negative sentiment about policing may make it more difficult to find and keep good officers.

“It’s a difficult time in law enforcement,” said Chief Poletski. “And don’t get me wrong, if there are issues and there are problems within our department or our officers, I will hold them accountable and we will do whatever it takes to hold our officers accountable. But, at the same time, the ones that I know about and what I have here at the Anderson Police Department are full of honorable men and women.”

As Anderson's twelfth chief of police, Poletski says his goal is to help the department move into the future.