While traveling overseas, President Obama spoke out about police brutality, referring to recent incidents involving police officers and the use of force.
“We have to have effective policing, which means policing that is actually protecting as opposed to some of the things that we’ve been seeing of late in the United States,” Obama said, during a conversation about violence in inner-cities at a town hall with young people in Jamaica.
Obama reminded the audience that police officers had an “extraordinarily difficult job” cautioning that the “overwhelming majority” of them continued do a great job.
“But there’s got to be trust built between the communities,” he acknowledged, referring to his task force formed after the events in Ferguson, Missouri to address the situation.
He also said the flow of guns into communities was affecting violence, especially in places with illegal drugs.
“I think it is a mistake that we do not do a better job of putting in place common-sense gun-safety regulations that would keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” he said complaining that “unfortunately a majority of Congress does not agree with me.”
“Even after six-year-olds were gunned down viciously in their classroom, we could not get action done,” he said, referring to the Sandy Hook Elementary Massacre.
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