As many as seven officers and two civilians were also wounded in the attack, which marked the deadliest day for USA law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
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After the speech, the president and Mrs. Obama spent more than an hour meeting privately with the officers’ families and many of those who were wounded, the White House said.
Obama said there might be a need to develop a set of practices to ensure that investigations are carried out effectively and fairly for all parties involved.
People in Dallas and across the United States are suffering in the wake of last week’s slaying of five police officers at a protest against police violence, President Barack Obama told a memorial for victims of the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement in nearly 15 years. “I think there’s no better spokesman than Chief Brown, who’s done an unbelievable job”.
The officers were working at a rally where protesters had gathered to voice complaints about the shooting deaths of two black men by police officers, one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the other in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Pinal County (Arizona) Sheriff Paul Babeu, a longtime Obama critic whose jurisdiction sits between Phoenix and Tucson, said the president has undermined law enforcement throughout his tenure by raising issues of race and casting aspersions about officers in highly publicized police encounters.
“When all of this takes place, more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, we can not simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid”, he added.
When the president launched into a lengthy oration about racism in America, the officer appeared to lose consciousness. “I know how we’ve come against impossible odds”.
The president also illuminated the tragedy of these murders happening in Dallas, a city that has dramatically improved police-community relations. “Instead, we have public servants, police officers, like the men who were taken away from us”.
“The deepest fault lines of our democracy have suddenly been exposed, perhaps even widened”, he said.
Christina Allen wrote: “President George Bush dancing is hilarious. What can community leaders do more to fix this trust that in too many communities has been frayed?” They were identified as Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith and Brent Thompson.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown, who has drawn national attention for his response to the shootings, recited the lyrics to “As” by Stevie Wonder to the families of fallen officers. But he insisted the nation is not as divided as it seems and called on Americans to search for common ground in support of racial equity and justice. “And sadly, because this is a huge country that is very diverse, and we have a lot of police departments, I think it is fair to say that we will see more tension between police and communities this month, next month, next year, for quite some time”.
While traveling to Dallas, Obama telephoned the families of both men killed by police, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, to offer condolences on behalf of the American people.
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The president spoke before an audience that included police officers, relatives of the slain – and five empty seats, each representing a fallen officer.
