The president met for nearly two hours with leaders of eight law enforcement groups Monday, informing them that he considered the killing of the five police officers in Dallas on Thursday “a hate crime” and that he would work actively to serve as an intermediary between minority activists and police.
“I’m your best hope,” Obama remarked at one point, according to the Fraternal Order of Police’s James O. Pasco, one of the meeting’s attendees.
“I don’t disagree,” said Pasco, who has criticized aspects of the administration’s gun-control policy. “We’re all in this together.”
The president dropped in unannounced on the meeting with police officials that had been organized by Vice President Biden. He also scheduled a meeting for Wednesday with representatives from law enforcement, the activist community and academia, a move that reflects his hope of addressing two of the biggest frustrations of his presidency: reforming the criminal justice system and reducing gun violence. As he tries to address those colliding issues, Obama is also scrambling to defuse tensions with law enforcement.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member