Obama cuts Europe trip short to visit Dallas and address tensions

The White House said the president will meet privately with relatives of police officers killed in Thursday’s attack.

“I’ve been there and I understand that, but that for me that does not condone disrespecting or killing police officers”, Dr. Brian Williams, a trauma surgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital, said.

Obama acknowledged that Americans are unsettled by another mass shooting and are seeking answers to the violence that has sparked protests in cities and highlighted the nation’s persistent racial divide.

“If you care about the safety of our police officers, then you can’t set aside the gun issue and pretend it’s irrelevant”. He reiterated in personal terms the legitimacy of the activists’ concerns while pledging continued federal support for local law enforcement officers.

The Dallas shooter is not representative of blacks, the president said, just as the man who killed people at a historic African-American church previous year in Charleston is not representative of whites, and the Muslim-American who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub last month is not representative of Muslim-Americans.

Still, Obama wasn’t about to cede the role this week. For some, he flies to the scene to visit with families. But the shootings forced Obama into a hurried one. The speech was largely a sermon on grace, which he described as “that reservoir of goodness”.

Even as political leaders, protesters and law enforcement officials struggle to find common ground, there is an inescapable fear the United States is being pulled further apart. “If we can tap that grace, everything can change”, Obama said, before breaking out into a solo performance of “Amazing Grace”.

At the conclusion of the event, Obama shook as many hands as possible before departing Naval Station Rota.

Obama, who prides himself on his measured approach, is usually loath to alter carefully laid plans. White House officials said it was important for Obama to make the trip, because Spain was the only major European country he had not traveled to during his term.

Obama said the Black Lives Matter movement had grown out of a tradition that dated to the abolitionist movement, the women’s suffrage campaign, and the protests against the war in Vietnam.

The city remains on edge, especially after Dallas police received an anonymous threat against officers across the city Saturday.

Before walking offstage, Obama, Mrs. Obama, Bush and Laura Bush turned and applauded the audience of uniformed police officers. “They will be more likely to come home”. On Wednesday, the White House will host a broader meeting in what press secretary Josh Earnest called an effort at “repairing the bonds of trust that have frayed in so many communities”.

“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.

Mr Obama earlier called for greater tolerance, respect and understanding from police officers towards the people they take an oath to protect, as well as from individuals who think officers are too heavy handed and intolerant.