McKINNEY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A controversial McKinney City Council Member is drawing criticism from the McKinney Police Association for comments he made at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

The call was a response to the deadly shooting of Fort Worth woman Atatiana Jefferson in her home early Saturday morning by a Fort Worth officer who has since resigned and been charged with murder.

Councilman La’Shadion Shemwell called for a “black state of emergency” in Texas, which prompted Christopher Kennedy, the President of the McKinney Police Association to issue a news release on the matterWednesday night.

“Through this divisive rhetoric Councilman Shemwell is discouraging people of color from visiting the State of Texas,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said Shemwell’s words are meant to create a disconnect between McKinney residents and police officers.

Here is the full statement from Kennedy:

Through this divisive rhetoric Councilman Shemwell is discouraging people of color from visiting the State of Texas. This discourse negatively affects the State of Texas, McKinney citizens, and the McKinney Police Department. The statements by Councilman Shemwell were contentious and only sought to create disconnect between the citizens and the police departments that serve them. Unfortunately, this behavior is what we have become to expect from Councilman Shemwell, as he has continuously chosen to insert himself as a public. agitator both in McKinney and the City of Dallas.

The men and women of the McKinney Police Association stand with Mayor Fuller and agree wholeheartedly with him.

Due to Councilman Shemwell’s repeated inability to manage his responsibilities as an elected official, the McKinney Police Association calls for his immediate resignation.

During his tenure as a Councilman for the city, he has been arrested twice by the McKinnev Police Department. Councilman Shemwell has not been truthful about these arrests and continues to try to cause divide between people of color in our community. The citizens of McKinney, moreover those residing in district 1, deserve to be represented people of the upmost integrity, which is something Councilman Shemwell no longer provides.

In May 2018, Councilman Shemwell voted to censure himself after he was caught on video telling an officer he would be in trouble for pulling him over.

Shemwell’s attorney Kim Cole responded with the following statement around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday:

On October 15, 2019 Councilman La’Shadion Shemwell, McKinney’s second black councilman in the since their existence, declared a “Black State of Emergency in Texas” in response to innocent black citizens in the DFW metroplex being gunned down by law enforcement in their own homes. In response, instead of considering this very real fear that many black families face with daily, McKinney Police Association called for Councilman Shemwell’s resignation. True to form, MPA once again ignored the pleas of their only black councilperson to protect black and brown people.

Councilman Shemwell has been a staunch advocate for police reform. And McKinney Police has fought EVERY opportunity for real reform and reconciliation with the black community ever since one of their own brutalized and terrorized black students attending a pool party.

McKinney Police Association cites their multiple arrests Councilman Shemwell as cause for his resignation. However, Councilman’s Shemwell’s arrests only serve to further demonstrate the clear bias and harassment from McKinney Police.

MPA accuses Councilman Shemwell of not handling his duties as an elected official. However, Councilman Shemwell is the ONLY councilperson who has NEVER missed a city council meeting.

MPA say they stand with Mayor Fuller who insulted and made false accusations against a black girl who was brutally assaulted by McKinney Police. They stand with Mayor Fuller who in a vile email rant referred local black leaders who dare challenge authority as “thugs” which is simply the new politically correct term for “nigger.”

MPA regurgitates the same old tired lines when law enforcement is called upon to reform their actions. Any time black people express concern for their safety from police misconduct, they are accused of “racebaiting” and “agitating” and being “divisive.” This is the rhetoric of racists all across the country who proclaim “all lives matter” while turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the suffering of their black neighbors.

Councilman Shemwell’s proclamation was not about MPA. But they took it upon themselves to disparage him nonetheless. Thus, Councilman LaShadion Shemwell’s response to McKinney Police Association’s call for his immediate resignation is simply, “You first.”