Dallas police chief defends use of bomb robot

New details are emerging of the gunman who killed five Dallas police officers in a planned attack on 7 July.

The Dallas shooting occurred during a Thursday night protest over fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana earlier in the week. People inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement – which arose in recent years in response to repeated cases of police using lethal force against unarmed blacks – took to the streets in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“If this had not been a crime of opportunity where the protest was quickly organized in response to events in the same week… he could have caused a lot more harm than he did”, he said.

“While it’s well-meaning, it doesn’t trickle down into the neighborhoods, so that tomorrow when a kid gets shot unarmed, that message of unity is not going to reach the people”, he said. Worth noting in video from the Dallas shootings is how police officers, a lot of them white, ran towards the shooter not away, in an effort to protect the people in the march.

A few miles down the road, the Lower Merion Police Department said its officers had heavy hearts but full bellies after another woman and her son delivered a stack of pizzas Friday.

“For a long time during the negotiation, because of the negotiator’s expertise, the suspect wouldn’t believe he was black until they talked some more”, said Brown, who is himself African-American.

He told the media the upcoming funerals for the fallen officers will be “the most challenging in my life, quite honestly”. The chief said Johnson acted alone and wasn’t affiliated with any groups.

Dallas police stand watch near the scene where four Dallas police officers were shot and killed on July 7, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.

Authorities have said the 25-year-old kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home that included bomb-making materials.

Chief David Brown said at a news conference Monday that they have to do that for the sake of their families.

Brown described the robot, which he said was purchased in 2008 for $151,000, and is still functional. He cut his visit to Spain short by a day and has spoken daily during the trip about the attacks, calling for police and protesters to “listen to each other”.

Police said on Twitter that “out of an abundance of caution, officers searched the garage to ensure reports of a suspicious person (were) thoroughly investigated”.

In 2014, Dallas police shot 15 people, 10 of them fatally.

Among Dallas investigators’ current goals: Figure out what Johnson had meant by “RB”, lettering that Brown said he’d written on the wall in blood before his death.

During negotiations, he said he wanted to exterminate whites, “especially white officers”, the police chief said.

The incident occurred as the city remained tense following Thursday night’s fatal shootings of five Dallas police officers by a former US Army reservist.

“We show our love because there’s no greater love than to give your life for someone, and that’s what we’re continuing to be willing to do”, he said.