Since anti-police militants have started actively ambushing and killing law enforcement officials, President Barack Obama has scrambled to signal his support for police officers.
In a letter to the National Fraternal Order of Police, the president sent a two page, 900 world letter reassuring law enforcement officials that they have his support.
“As you continue to serve us in this tumultuous hour, we again recognize that we can no longer ask you to solve issues we refuse to address as a society,” Obama wrote, in an attempt to shift claims of racial bias away from law enforcement officials.
Obama’s letter was issued on Monday, the same day that Republicans speaking at the National Convention called for American political leaders to support police officers.
Earlier this month, however, Obama demanded that police officers admit and address the problems of racism within their departments.
“If police organizations and departments acknowledge that there’s a problem and there’s an issue, then that, too, is going to contribute to real solutions,” Obama said during a press conference in Madrid, Spain. [T]hat is what’s going to ultimately help make the job of being a cop a lot safer. It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them and that the kind of rancor and suspicion that exists right now is alleviated.”