Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 7-12-16 Online Edition

White House News
President Obama’s Statement After The Shootings Of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile
President Obama And Former President Bush To Speak At Memorial In Dallas
“All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and com- munities who've suffered such a painful loss.
Although I am constrained in commenting on the particu- lar facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. De- partment of Justice has opened a civil rights investiga- tion in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their abil- ity to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.
But regardless of the out- come of such investigations, what's clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated inci- dents. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice sys- tem, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists be- tween law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.
To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every sin- gleday.Itistosaythat,asa nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the ap- pearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.
That's why, two years ago, I set up a Task Force on 21st Century Policing that con- vened police officers, commu- nity leaders, and activists. Together, they came up with detailed recommendations on how to improve community policing. So even as officials continue to look into this week's tragic shootings, we also need communities to ad- dress the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference. That's how we'll keep our com- munities safe. And that's how we can start restoring confi- dence that all people in this great nation are equal before the law.
In the meantime, all Ameri- cans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling -- feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a pre- dictable pattern of division
Protest In New York
City Hall protest in Baton Rouge
Protest in Phoenix
Protest in Minneapolis, MN for killing of Philando Castille.
March in Baton Rouge
Speaking from Madrid, Spain, President Obama said Sunday, ‘The Black Lives Matter movement that's arisen in response to police shootings of Black men is part of a long line of protest movements that have transformed America for the better, defending the protests amid renewed ten- sions over race and policing across the country.
But he also acknowledged that the debate sometimes gets ‘controversial’ and urged pro- testers to "maintain a respect- ful, thoughtful tone" after a week of deadly shootings — both of African-American men
by police and of police officers by a Dallas gunman.
The President cut short his four-day trip to Europe and in- stead will go to Dallas Tuesday to speak at an interfaith prayer service. He'll also devote most of the week working on police issues, aides said.
President Obama is jug- gling an important foreign trip with NATO allies in Warsaw and Spanish leaders in Madrid. But Sunday's comments were focused on the social media-fu- eled protest movement that has has brought national at- tention to the issue of police shootings.
President Obama: America ‘Not As Divided As Some Have Suggested’
President Barack Obama
on Saturday cautioned that “America is not as divided as some have suggested,” while acknowledging a week plagued by deadly violence involving law enforcement in the U.S.
“Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly out- raged by the inexcusable at- tacks on police, whether it’s in Dallas or anyplace else,” Obama said, referring to an attack by a lone gunman Thursday that leftfive police of- ficers dead and seven wounded, the Associated Press reported.
“That includes protesters,” Obama said, speaking from Warsaw, where he attended the NATO Summit. “It includes family members who have grave concerns about police conduct, and they’ve said that this is unacceptable. There’s no division there.”
The Dallas attack came dur- ing a peaceful protest over the shooting deaths of two black men by police officers earlier this week, fueling a national debate over use of force by po-
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
lice and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
But Obama rejected the idea that a dark era of U.S. history is repeating itself, saying Satur- day that “we cannot eliminate all racial tension in our country overnight.”
“You’re not seeing riots and you’re not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully,” he said, according to the AP. “You’ve seen almost uniformly peaceful protests and you’ve seen, uniformly, po- lice handling those protests with professionalism.”
and political posturing, let's reflect on what we can do bet- ter. Let's come together as a nation, and keep faith with one
another, in order to ensure a future where all of our chil- dren know that their lives mat- ter.”
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