America is in mourning.
Last week, the country watched in horror as two Black men were killed in two days, followed by the murder of five police officers in Dallas.
On Thursday night, a sniper opened fire on police officers, killing five officers and injuring seven others during a peaceful protest over two recent fatal police shootings of Black men.
The shooting deaths of two Black men within days by law enforcement officers are the latest in a long list of such cases that have made headlines nationwide in recent years.
On Friday, five officers were killed by Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old African-American former Army Reserve veteran, who authorities now believe was the only gunman in the ambush. Police said they believed the gunman may have been prompted by concerns over police encounters with African Americans.
President Barack Obama spoke to a nation horrified by the shootings.
“Today is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices that they make for us,” Obama said. “Today our focus is on the victims and their families. They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving. Police across America, which is a tight-knit family, feels this loss to their core.”
This is a difficult time for the city of Dallas and for the nation.
America is at a crossroads.
Americans, especially the nation’s elected officials and those in law enforcement, must be in the forefront of the fight against injustice and police brutality.
As the president said there’s no contradiction between supporting law enforcement and working to see that biases in the justice system are rooted out.
“So when people say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ that doesn’t mean blue lives don’t matter,” he said, referring to police. “It just means all lives matter — but right now the big concern is the fact that the data shows Black folks are more vulnerable to these kinds of incidents.”
While there is no justification for the shootings of the five Dallas police officers, we must work toward addressing the real rage many African Americans are feeling. Many believe there is no accountability for police officers who kill Black men.
More must be done to hold violent police officers accountable. The police unions and others cannot continue to automatically support police officers who are engaged in misconduct. All professions have bad apples including police; to pretend otherwise will only exacerbate the problem.
More must be done to improve the screening for good officers, root out those psychologically unfit and hold bad officers accountable.
Finally, more must be done to improve relations between police officers and the communities they serve. In too many communities across America, police officers are seen as an occupying force within the African-American community.
Mutual respect and trust must be built between police and African Americans.
The anger, frustration, and sadness many Americans feel right now about the fatal shootings of police officers and Black men losing their lives at the hands of police officers must be turned toward real change.
https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/a-nation-in-mourning/article_202621f0-857f-5c37-8298-49104ac90b4f.html
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