It was in Dallas that a peaceful, nearly celebratory demonstration-involving religious groups, police officers, and ordinary people-turned into a nightmare, as a sniper (or maybe snipers) took aim at police, killing five officers in a shootout and standoff that lasted into the night. The governors of both Louisiana and Minnesota condemned the shootings and promised justice would be served.
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It is within this climate that the slaughter of the Dallas police officers must be viewed and mourned.
Pittsburgh’s police chief walked along with protesters at an activist march downtown on Friday and said it was peaceful.
“I don’t know what to say to anybody to make anything better. It’s not clear, it’s not clear to me what we are seeing, but the situation is escalating”.
Neki Bosh and her boyfriend were getting out of their auto at El Centro College parking garage in Dallas when the shooting started taking place.
The “team of snipers” theory, nonetheless, was repeated in media accounts, including with police-attributed information that multiple snipers positioned themselves on elevated ground to triangulate and hit their targets. The crowd swelled, and about 1,000 demonstrators headed to Interstate 880, bringing traffic to a halt, police said.
Former 2016 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said the “common denominator” is “not the weapon” – but the “anarchy in the heart of the person who’s … committing the crime”.
In the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the Department of Justice found police there disproportionately stopped black drivers as a way to maintain a source of revenue for the city.
And I’m still hopeful that young people leading groups like Black Lives Matter will continue to push for real police accountability.
“They were targeting the police”, NPR’s Wade Goodwyn reports for Morning Edition.
Thousands of people marched through downtown Atlanta to protest the recent police shootings of blacks.
The shooter, dressed in dark combats, seemingly shrugged off the bullets only to turn around and go after the officer, who was crouching behind a pillar.
The man in the photo, Mark Hughes, told Dallas TV station KTVT that he “flagged down a police officer” immediately after finding out he was a suspect. “Officers were out in force, wearing helmets, shields and holding assault weapons”.
In addition to those officers, numerous police who were trapped at the scene were in their patrol and bike uniforms.
For minutes afterward, gunfire echoed through the city’s streets. Police said they believed two snipers were responsible for the gunfire. The massacre ended with the bombing of the suspect following unsuccessful negotiations.
Craig Lally, president of the union representing Los Angeles police officers, says he suspects changes will be made at departments across the country when it comes to staffing protests and similar events.
“Our profession is hurting”.
One of those slain has been identified by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or DART, as transit officer Brent Thompson, 43, who had joined the agency in 2009. Two civilians were injured. They are Omar Cannon, 44, Misty McBride, 32, and Jesus Retana, 39.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told reporters “there appears to have been one gunman”, Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, who had “no known links to or inspiration from any worldwide terrorist organization”.
Dallas police tighten security at their headquarters after receiving an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city, Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. Will another black avenger try to kill another white cop?
Organizers have postponed a weekend rally in Flint in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the killings of five Dallas police officers. The march appeared peaceful. There were really attractive speakers, a lot of great things were said, and it felt really unifying and we were all standing in solidarity, and that happened, and everyone just scattered and we broke apart. “He just got it out and bam, I saw a cloud”. Johnson’s ambush of police officers was a heinous, despicable act committed by a sick, twisted individual. They include Dallas County administration buildings, courts and museums. President Obama, in Poland for a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation meeting, addressed it.
“I think it’s safe to say we’ll leave no stone unturned”, Dallas Deputy Chief Scott Walton said.
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Obama added that while the “twisted motivations” of the attackers will surely emerge, “there is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks, or any violence against law enforcement”.
