U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has met with the children of a 37-year-old black man who was killed at the hands of two white officers in a struggle on July 5.
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Lynch spent Friday morning meeting with police officers and first responders before sitting down to hear from ministers, judges, activists and business leaders.
Photographs of three slain Louisiana police officers dominated a stage flooded in blue lights, the color of their uniforms, at a memorial service where U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Loretta Lynch will speak on Thursday. Days before he was shot to death, Jackson posted a message on Facebook about the difficulties of being both a black man and a police officer in the tumultuous aftermath of Sterling’s shooting.
Authorities said Long was targeting police when he ambushed the officers in Baton Rouge, where racial tensions had been mounting amid protests over a deadly police shooting.
Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk.
At an afternoon press conference, Lynch said she has met with Sterling’s five children. The 62-year-old said she is confident that the ceremony will help unite a community that has been grappling with racial tensions. She praised Sterling’s family members for calling for “peace and calm” in the wake of his death. He says she also will receive updates on the investigation into the July 17th attack in Baton Rouge. Shooter Gavin Long, 29, a black former Marine with ties to an African-American anti-government group, was also killed in an exchange of gunfire.
Rosie Hernandez, whose nephew who is a Baton Rouge police officer, and her husband found seats Thursday inside the church where the vigil is being held.
“Try to figure out, are there ways maybe that the department can help in terms of setting some best practices, ways of maybe even providing more resources to our law enforcement community”.
“She told us, ‘The bottom line is that you have to do the hard work, ‘” Wesley said. “That’s the way it should be”.
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He added that the police, mayor and community leaders will be holding a series of meetings to come up with a plan on how to improve policing.
