The fact is, most Americans never should have even heard about a shooting involving Michael Brown and police officer Darren Wilson. Every day in communities large and small, criminals commit crimes that elicit interaction from the police. In the instant case, it is a fact that Michael Brown committed a crime in a small town on August 9, 2014, failed to heed Officer Wilson’s instructions, and was shot to death when the officer thought his life was in danger. The shooting never should have happened—a young man never should have committed a crime and never should have rushed at a police officer.

Sadly, this incident provided the perfect opportunity for those who think that America is inherently racist and permanently ensconced in a 1965 Selma, Alabama, mindset with an opportunity: an opportunity to declare that a racist cop had gunned down an innocent black youth as the teen shouted “Hands up, Don’t Shoot”—a fictional account that never happened.

On matters of race involving local police investigations, President Obama has not been shy about injecting himself into the narrative while shaping the desired outcomes.