Dallas surgeon: ‘This killing, it has to stop’

“This killing it has to stop”, he continued.

Thursday evening Micah Johnson opened fired on police officers manning a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration in response to the recent killings of black men by police officers.

“When you come here, you’re a patient and we do our best to take care of you, so it’s hard for me to put into context that there are still people who don’t treat people that way”, Minshall said. “We have to come together and end all this”.

“I think we all know that when we do this job there’s a chance we may not come home”, said Birbeck.

A Dallas police officer covers his face as he stands with others outside the emergency room at Baylor University Medical Center, Friday, July 8, 2016, in Dallas.

The trauma surgeon who treated seven injured Dallas police officers gave an emotional interview today about how his experiences as a black man have complicated the emotional impact of the shooting that killed five police officers.

“I understand the anger and the frustration and distrust of law enforcement, but they are not the problem”, he said.

Dr. Brian H. Williams went on to say that police are not the problem, but instead the lack of discussion about “the impact of race relations”. When he’s with his daughter in public and sees an officer, he’ll buy their lunch or pick up their ice cream.

“There’s this dichotomy where I’m standing with law enforcement, but I also personally feel and understand that angst that comes when you cross the paths of an officer in uniform and you’re fearing for your safety”, he said. There is the added dynamic of officers being shot.

Williams said he wants police officers to see him as a black man, and understand that he supports them. I think the reasons are obvious. I fit that demographic of individuals.

“I’m thinking about the officers and their families and the men that were killed in Baton Rouge and Minnesota last week and I compare my situation to theirs and it’s hard for me to focus on myself right now”.

Captain Dan Birbeck of the Dallas County Hospital District Police says the Dallas attack was the worst thing he has ever seen in his 20-year law enforcement career.

According to the Associated Press, Williams, who practices at Parkland Memorial Hospital, said that not being able to save some of the officers “weighs heavily” on his mind.