Speaking from Madrid, Spain on Sunday, President Obama implored both those protesting recent police violence and police officers to treat each other with respect, The New York Times reports.
At the times of the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and the attack on Dallas police officers, the president was in Poland for a NATO summit. He chose to end his trip to Europe early in the wake of these tragedies. “Whenever those of us who are concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system attack police officers, you are doing a disservice to the cause,” the president said.
Last weekend’s protests only added to the tensions between protesters, many associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, and police officers. In Baton Rouge, La., where Sterling was killed, police arrested high-profile Black Lives Matter leader DeRay Mckesson, along with over one hundred other protesters. In St. Paul, Minn., the location of Castile’s killing, protesters blocked Interstate 94, leading to fifty arrests. Another 52 people were arrested only hours later for what police cited as “public nuisance and unlawful assembly.” A total of at least 312 poeple were arrested as a result of the protests that were held throughout the nation.
The president compelled protesters and officers to respect each other and to see things from different perspectives. He also insisted that using harsh words would only solidify the division between the two groups and reduce the possibility of debate and compromise.
President Obama acknowledged that a few overly violent members of a group do not characterize the entire group, yet those loud voices can drown out quieter, more reasonable ones and delay real criminal justice reform.
“Even rhetorically, if we paint police officers with a broad brush — without recognizing that the vast majority of police officers are doing a really good job and are trying to protect people, and do so fairly and without racial bias — if the rhetoric does not recognize that, then we’re going to lose allies in the reform process,” the president continued.
President Obama also asked police officers to respect protestors and to listen to their complaints. The president reiterated his promise to work with law enforcement, civil rights leaders and politicians in order to create meaningful changes within the criminal justice system. President Obama traveled to Dallas on Tuesday to participate in an interfaith memorial service.
“I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem,” Obama said at the service. “And I know that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds. I know we’ll make it because of what I’ve experienced in my own life. What I’ve seen of this country and its people, their goodness and decency as president of the United States.”