That Clinton wants people to place themselves in the shoes of others – African-American parents who have had to have “the talk” with their children about the potentially deadly consequences of the slightest wrong move in encounters with law enforcement, and police officers who head off to risky jobs not knowing if they will return to their families – stands in stark contrast to the simplistic demagoguery that was on display last week at the Republican convention.
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As Clinton pointed out in her recent speech, these are not just any guns but military-style weapons, such as the ones used to slaughter the five police officers in Dallas and the three officers in Baton Rouge.
Corporal Ivory Taylor Jr., along with other members of Jackson’s police squad, addressed mourners gathered at Living Faith Christian Center: “We’re not here to mourn the death of Montrell, we’re here to celebrate his life”, he said.
“There’s no doubt that Montrell was a peacemaker”, Edwards said. “The support was so appreciated by the people of Baton Rouge”, he said.
“This job isn’t easy”, he said.
“We’ll miss you”, he said. He’d been at the two other officers’ funerals as well.
Before the funeral, hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the country streamed past the casket, some solemnly saluting and others making the sign of the cross.
The four months Jackson got to spend with his son, Mason were not almost enough, Edwards said. “We will strive to be the best city we can be”.
“He was protecting us as well as his co-workers”. “He could’ve been whatever he wanted, and he chose to be a policeman”, Dabadie said. “He was a hero of a man with a heart of gold”.
Just days before he was shot and killed, Jackson posted an emotional Facebook message saying he was “physically and emotionally” exhausted and expressing how hard it was to be both a police officer and a black man.
“I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me”, Jackson wrote. “In uniform I get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat”, Jackson wrote.
At the same time, he argued that keeping police officers safe is “not inconsistent” with treating the communities they serve with dignity and respect. That shooting was the beginning of an extremely tense week in the country’s fraught history of race relations.
We need to support our police officers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.
Long’s attack came after the shooting death of a black man, Alton Sterling, by white police officers sparked protests around the city.
Jackson does not specifically refer to those events but the posting appears to be a reaction to them. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that just days before the killings of Jackson, officer Matthew Gerald and East Baton Rouge Parish deputy sheriff Brad Garafola, he had stood in the same church, the Living Faith Christian Center in north Baton Rouge, and called for constructive dialogue about police killings.
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Matthew Gerald, 41, was a rookie office, who was killed by a gunman targeting police.
