The comments from police chief Chuck Jordan came at the kickoff of the Literacy, Legacy and Movement Day in Tulsa.

“I can not apologize for the actions, inaction and dereliction that those individual officers and their chief exhibited during that dark time,” Jordan began.

“But as your chief today, I can apologize for our police department. I am sorry and distressed that the Tulsa Police Department did not protect its citizens during those tragic days in 1921.”

Those taking part walked to historically significant places in the Greenwood District of downtown Tulsa. The Tulsa Race Riot took place in 1921 and is known nationally as one of the worst race based events in the nations history.

There are claims that Tulsa police took part in the riot with then chief John Gustafson, eventually losing his job over the handling of the incident. Eye witnesses through the years have claimed some Tulsa officers set fire to buildings and houses while others took no action to stop the mayhem.

Jordan put it this way “officers of the Tulsa Police Department did not live up to the oath that they took.”