President Obama is back at the White House after flying to Dallas Tuesday for a memorial to the five police officers murdered there last week.
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Across Dallas, ordinary people stop police officers to offer condolences and thank them for their services, while sporadic Black Lives Matter protests take place and investigators continue to probe what prompted Micah Johnson to take up arms against his fellow Americans. I know how far we have come against impossible odds.
‘In addition, I plan on introducing other legislation soon that would help law enforcement go after the violent criminals who intentionally target police officers and give additional authorities to our law enforcement officers to help them better defend both the public and themselves’. Obama did not outline any specific steps, but suggested that a starting point was the report of a commission he established after the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014. And I know that because I know America. Whether you are black or white or Spanish or Native American or of Middle Eastern descent, we’ve seen bigotry in our own lives. He said the vast majority of police are “deserving of our respect and not our scorn”.
“We ask the police to do too much and we ask too little of ourselves”.
“We flood communities with so many guns that it is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer or even a book”, the president said, his voice booming. Other US cities need to emulate them. “This has strained our bonds of understanding and common objective”.
“We do not want the unity of grief or the unity of fear”. Helicopters circled overhead as Secret Service agents patrolled the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center’s perimeter. “The city of Dallas shall overcome the evil from that day”.
But Rawlings added he was “in awe” of the Dallas Police Department, saying it set a standard for strong, smart policing. The assertion of black rage which is still in progress in the USA is a response to the perception of racial profiling and targeting by the police.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is among the lawmakers accompanying Obama aboard Air Force One as he travels to Dallas for the service.
Obama and Biden met Monday with police chiefs, sheriffs and rank-and-file officers to discuss adopting a series of reforms that were drafted by a White House task force on policing, as well as how to restore trust between police officers and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect.
Some of Obama’s critics have accused him of helping create an environment for attacks on law enforcement by blaming their conduct in previous incidents and sympathizing with Black Lives Matter and other groups that complain about racial unfairness in the justice system.
Twenty five years after innercity Los Angeles exploded in violence over the beating of Rodney King, an unarmed black man by four white police officers, America is again witnessing a heated debate on race, especially the racial disparities in law enforcement.
Johnson, 25, was an Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan.
Aides declined to preview the precise message Obama will bring to Dallas. The slain officers were Mike Smith, 55; Lorne Ahrens, 48; Michael Krol, 40; Brent Thomson, 43, and Patrick Zamarripa, 32.
Last week’s melee in Dallas followed the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling by police inBaton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in a suburb of Minneapolis.
Mr. Obama made a decision to stop by, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Obama’s speeches and meetings with grieving relatives following mass shootings have become almost routine.
Just a few weeks ago, Obama spent hours in Orlando, Florida, consoling the loved ones of 49 people who were killed in a shooting rampage at a nightclub.
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Every couple of years, there are songs and movies that promote change and peace in the world but is it finally going to happen or are we going to wait a couple more decades to realize that it’s too late?
