CALL FOR MUTUAL RESPECT
MADRID — President Barack Obama on Sunday urged respect and restraint from Americans angered by the killing of black men by police, saying anything less does a “disservice to the cause” of ridding the criminal justice system of racial bias.
He also urged law enforcement to treat seriously complaints that they are heavy- handed and intolerant, particularly toward minorities.
“I’d like all sides to listen to each other,” Obama said in response to a reporter’s question after he met with Spain’s acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, during an abbreviated first visit to Spain as president.
Obama’s appeal for greater understanding from opposing sides of the emotionally charged debate over police practices followed the weekend arrests of scores of people in Louisiana and Minnesota who protested the shooting deaths by police of black men in both states last week.
Those deaths were followed by a stunning sniper attack last Thursday in Dallas that killed five police officers.
Obama, in his remarks, urged protesters to recognize that police officers have a difficult job.
“Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause,” Obama said, the fourth straight day that he has commented on the distressing chain of events at home.
The president’s remarks likely foreshadowed the message he will deliver Tuesday in Dallas, when he addresses an interfaith memorial service. He was invited to speak by Mayor Mike Rawlings, the White House said.
Obama repeated Sunday that most U. S. police officers do a good job and also called for balance from law enforcement. “It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them,” Obama said.