It began with a moment of silence in honor of George Floyd.

As the coronavirus and racism dominated conversations Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf addressed the latter in a news conference.

“As Americans, it is our duty to continuously strive to build a better democracy, and right now our resolve is being tested,” Wolf said.

Wolf announced a number of reforms meant to improve the interactions between police and minorities. The majority of these reforms came in the vein of improving training procedures and developing advisory boards at local and state levels.

“This effort will commence immediately,” Wolf said.

Wolf said he will be directing the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission, state police and all other training academies to review their training curriculum, especially those sections of training that pertain to use of force. He said he would also like to emphasize and push for including the best practices for verbal de-escalation techniques, trauma-centered approaches, mental health first aid and implicit bias training.

“We need to explore greater oversight of law enforcement to root out misconduct and abuse,” he said.

Wolf said he will also be asking any municipality with a police force to form local citizen advisory boards “to address police action that leads to injury or death.” These boards would be responsible for reviewing misconduct in the municipality's police force.

“I'm going to establish a Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Advisory Committee that will review misconduct within law enforcement agencies under my jurisdiction,” Wolf said.

The governor acknowledged he likely does not have the power to force municipalities to form their own boards, but he can offer support to them and strongly encourages them to do so.

“I recognize that some of them (municipalities) will push back on that, and I don't have the right to impose that, but I think that's something communities really ought to do,” he said.

Wolf said he also would support legislation aimed at addressing racial and ethnic disparities.

“As we go forward, we need to address the looming systemic failings that have created this situation,” Wolf said. “This is not about the police, this is about the broad inequities.”

In a statement Thursday, the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President David Kennedy said the governor's announcement compares and links the Pennsylvania State Police to the officer who handled the call during which George Floyd died in Minneapolis.

“What happened to George Floyd was horrific and wrong,” Kennedy said. “There isn't a single state trooper who disagrees.”

Kennedy said the governor's statement Thursday made it seem that Pennsylvania state troopers were “no better than those charged with Mr. Floyd's death,” and Wolf's march in Harrisburg this week was disrespectful to the men and women who serve as officers in the state.

In addition to its website, the statement was posted on the association's social media, along with a photo of Wolf marching while holding a Black Lives Matter poster. In the background, another protester walked while holding a sign that read, “Blue Lives Murder.”

Wolf addressed the statement during Thursday's news conference.

“I'm not comparing them at all. I think the PA state police are doing a fine job,” Wolf said. “That sign. I was in the protest yesterday, and there was a lot of signs. I can't control who was there, and I certainly don't' condone that.”

Kennedy said troopers go to work every day knowing they might not make it home to their loved ones.

“This is a sacrifice we accept because we have sworn an oath to uphold the laws of the commonwealth and the United States, without any consideration of class, color, creed or condition,” Kennedy said. “We live by this oath and are dedicated to protecting you, our fellow citizens and the rule of law. And that will never change.”

Jackson Township Police Chief Terry Seilhamer did not comment on Wolf's announcement specifically, but said he wouldn't turn down training.

“I'm a firm believer in you can't have too much training,” Seilhamer said. “Additional training is always good depending on the quality of it.”

Seilhamer retired as a commander from the state police before becoming chief in Jackson Township.

He said while there is room for improvement, officers today already have a lot of training available to them, and to be a certified, officers must take multiple training courses each year.

“I think overall the quality of policing in PA is pretty good,” Seilhamer said.