President Obama on Friday offered his gratitude to the officers who have died in the line of duty and pledged to work harder to heal the rift between police and some of the communities where they serve, particularly in impoverished areas.
The president was the keynote speaker at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service, an annual event held at the U.S. Capitol.
Acknowledging that police officers are honored as heroes because of their courage and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice so that “others may know peace and security,” Obama honored 131 officers who lost their lives this year and thanked their families for their sacrifice.
“On behalf of the American people, I offer the families and friends and the fellow officers of those we’ve lost my prayers and deepest thanks,” he said. “We could not be prouder of them.”
While the country cannot help make their jobs less dangerous or “erase every darkness or danger from the duty” they’ve chosen, Obama said the country can try to help make their jobs easier and better.
“We can offer you the support you need to be safer. We can make the communities that you care about and protect safer as well. We can make sure you have the resources you need to do your jobs,” he said.
He then touched on the racial clashes with police and resulting civil unrest on display in Baltimore earlier this month over the death of Freddie Gray, as well as a string of other related incidents over the last several years.
Instead of renewing his call for police to get new training on engaging their communities, he put the onus on the government and the rest of the country to help improve the situation.
“We can do everything we have to do to combat the poverty that plagues too many communities which you have to serve,” he said. “We can work harder as a nation to heal the rifts that still exist between law enforcement and the people you risk your lives to protect.
“We owe it to all of you who wear the badge with honor, and we owe it to your fellow officers who gave their last full measure of devotion,” he said.
“Most of all, we can say thank you. We can say we appreciate you and we’re grateful for the work that you do each and every day.”
