Johnson said he appreciated Obama speaking out against violence aimed at police officers, but he said he feels that it has not been enough.
Advertisement
An interfaith choir will open Tuesday afternoon’s service, which begins shortly after 1:30 p.m. ET, and the Dallas Police Choir is scheduled to perform the national anthem.
Former President George W. Bush called for unity.
The report released a year ago called for more data on police-involved shootings, better assessments of community attitudes toward police and the removal of incentives on police practices like arrests and convictions, according to an article on Time magazine’s website.
Each officer was represented by an empty chair in the auditorium, each adorned with a folded USA flag and officer’s cap. “Most of us imagine that if the moment called for it we would risk our lives to protect a spouse or a child”.
Two days before that grisly occurrence in downtown Dallas, Alton Sterling, a black man, was shot in the chest and back by Baton Rouge, La., police officers.
They were killed last Thursday at a protest against the killing by police of a black man in Minnesota and one in Louisiana. A folded flag and a police hat rested on each chair. As he tries to address those colliding issues, Obama is also scrambling to defuse tensions with law enforcement.
But Chief Terrence Cunningham of the Wellesley, Massachusetts, police said while he liked much of Obama’s speech, he was concerned about the president’s discussion of the shootings by the police in Louisiana and Minnesota, which remain under investigation.
“‘They were upholding the constitutional rights of this country. even if there were signs or chants with which they profoundly disagreed”.
“We’re proud of the men we mourn”, he said. Both incidents were captured on video and widely viewed on social media. Large protests in several US cities followed.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama recognizes that people across the us are grieving with Dallas. The two men will see the families following the memorial service, Blasquez said. The president positioned himself as both an ally of law enforcement and a sympathizer of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We mourn fewer people today because of your fearless actions”, Obama told a crowd several hundred people, including many uniformed police officers, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
“In the end, it’s not about finding policies that work. It’s about forging consensus and fighting cynicism, and finding the will to make change”.
“But my faith tells me that they did not die in vain”. “I’m here to insist that we are not so divided as we seem”. I believe our righteous anger can be transformed into more justice and more peace. Obama will also be accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Jill Biden and former first lady Laura Bush.
Bush called the shooting last Thursday evil, and said the shock of the attack had not yet faded. He urged Americans to remember “shared commitments for common ideals” as a way to overcome differences.
But, Bush said, “Americans, I think, have a great advantage”. Some have described the remarks as an insult, an all-too-quick condemnation before all the facts are in and a failure to acknowledge the thousands of cops who do a good job and routinely risk their lives.
“Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions”, Bush said.
Following the service, Obama met for more than an hour with families of the officers killed and wounded.
Obama is to meet Wednesday with law enforcement officials, activists and civil rights leaders. The discussion is expected to center on ways to fix “the bonds of trust” between communities and police.
Advertisement
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting from VOAnews.com, with additional reports from the Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor.
