“All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota,” President Obama said in a statement released July 7.
President Obama’s comments come just as the world saw Sterling and Castile, both black men, killed by police officers over the course of two days. Sterling was shot early on July 5 while pinned down by cops outside a convenience store, an incident captured on video. Castile was shot July 6 while sitting in his car, and video taken after the shooting shows him moaning in pain and covered in blood as a police officer brandishes a gun outside the window.
President Obama was careful not to comment on the specifics of either case, however.
“Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry,” he said.
“But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, what's clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents,” he said. This assessment is within the mainstream of opinion among black Christians, according to a survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute: about 80 percent believe that police killings of black people are part of a larger pattern. On the other hand, about 70 percent of white Christians believe the contrary — that these killings are isolated incidents.
While recognizing the pattern of police violence against African Americans, President Obama did not want it to seem like he was condemning all police officers.
“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 single day. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.”
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