In Dallas, investigators still are assessing whether a black man driven by racial animus had any help planning his attack on police officers providing security during a peaceful demonstration.
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Micah Johnson, 25, a United States military veteran, was killed on July 7 by police using an explosive device after he shot dead five police officer in the streets of Dallas following a demonstration over police killings of African-Americans. Obama and Biden attended the memorial service for the five fallen Dallas police officers. “And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common goal”. No one expressed his appreciation for the men more memorably than Brown, who has emerged as the steady and charismatic face of the Dallas police.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was confident that there will be law enforcement officers in the room who are deeply troubled by the actions and comments of some people who associate themselves with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Obama spent a majority of his time talking about the relationship between law enforcement and African Americans, admitting that racism does exist in our country.
Even as he praises the vast majority of police as hard-working and well-meaning, Obama has drawn attention to racial inequities that contribute to friction with minority communities. “I think it’s already been expressed”. “I’m not suggesting that I always get that fine line perfectly – but if I don’t say anything at a time when people feel hurt, angry, there are protests, there are flare-ups, then I wouldn’t be doing my job”, he said.
Reports indicate the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association sent a request to the administration to shine blue light on the White House as a memorial to the officers killed and injured, though the effort was not successful.
Some protesters, meanwhile, questioned why Obama rushed home from Europe to attend the service in Dallas before meeting with the communities grieving their dead in Minnesota and Louisiana. But during his remarks, there were likely also two other names on his mind: Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
Obama has lit up the White House to mark Breast cancer awareness in 2013, and to celebrate the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush are also in attendance, along with several mayors and the governors of Missouri and New Mexico.
“I understand how Americans are feeling”, he said. I’ve seen too many families go through this.
But each in his own way and his own words found themes that were remarkably complementary, effectively intertwined to try to close rather than exacerbate the deep wounds in our national soul.
It’s possible, and necessary, to mourn for the victims of police brutality, the slain officers and address America’s racism..
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While urging more police departments to adopt federal recommendations on training and avoiding confrontation, Obama has said progress will only come through steady, long-term efforts, once the country is ready to “sit down and just grind it out”.
