New London - The same woman whose letter to the editor incensed city police received an outpouring of support at Wednesday's City Council meeting - which then inspired a greater overall discussion on police and race relations in the community.

Numerous people spoke in support of Kris Wraight, a Police Community Relations Committee member whose inflammatory letter led the police union to ask the City Council for her removal.

Wraight suggested in a letter that instead of purchasing riot gear, police should "use the leadership you've been given to train your officers not to kill black people," and "Teach your majority white force to view New London's black and brown residents as human beings, not 'thugs.'"

Police union members Todd Lynch and Chuck Flynn said Wednesday they respected her right to free speech but said her letter showed an unacceptable bias for a sitting member of a committee tasked with reviewing investigations into complaints against police.

Many more, however, urged councilors to respect her opinion as a way to maintain diversity on the committee.

New London NAACP Vice President Tamara Lan ier was among others to remind the City Council that the committee was set up as a reaction to discriminatory actions by police in the late 1970s.

"Members of the police department and members of the community have to come together to build a better relationship," Lanier said. "Even today I received a complaint about the New London Police Department. We have issues we can't ignore."

Wraight said the publicity her letter received is "proof that our community is eager and ready to have a discussion about race, racism and police community relations."

City Council Public Safety Committee members Erica Richardson, Efrain Dominguez Jr. and Wade Hyslop were all outspoken about the fact they would not consider Wraight's removal from the committee.

"I think (police) do look at black and brown residents, some of them, not all of them, as thugs," Hyslop said. "I think that's part of our problem. I also think that the outpouring of today shows us that there are people who have concerns about people having the right to speak. I believe that if we hush Kris today, we hush a whole lot of your mouths."

Flynn asked Wraight for a public apology to police and questioned whether her "self-serving biases" has led to her record of dissent when voting on the adequacy of investigations of complaints against police.

Acting Police Chief Peter Reichard called the committee "dysfunctional," with members often getting into arguments about well-established policies and procedures. He suggested it may be time for the city to examine how the board runs.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay