As Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law addressing police misconduct Friday in the wake of protests about police violence against black people, a Guthrie County religious pastor that has an intimate experience in law enforcement shares some thoughts on the issue.

Pastor Gary Freeland of Panora First Christian Church has also had a career as a certified police officer, and has more recently served as a reserve officer and chaplain for the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office. Freeland tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the actions that led to the death of George Floyd were wrong. Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder after he was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd begged him to stop, and three other officers who were involved in the incident have also been fired and face felony charges. Freeland says he’s seen many peaceful protests occur for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, but he does share some concern, “The violence that goes along with the protests, I would echo what Martin Luther King would say is that violence doesn’t belong in that, it just takes away from the message. There are some great, peaceful protests that are happening and there’s changes that need to be made in the way that people are treated.”

The bill that was unanimously passed by lawmakers Thursday allows the state attorney general to prosecute law enforcement officers who cause a death, bans chokeholds except when there’s a threat of deadly force, and it prevents the rehiring of officers who were fired or quit due to misconduct.