--- title: Obama: "Gulf of Mistrust" Between Law Enforcement and Locals description: Law enforcement's targeting of minorities has a "corrosive effect on America," the President said Saturday canonical: https://time.com/3441544/obama-ferguson-gulf-of-mistrust/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-28T14:04:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:33.833Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama: "Gulf of Mistrust" Between Law Enforcement and Locals og:description: Law enforcement's targeting of minorities has a "corrosive effect on America," the President said Saturday og:url: https://time.com/3441544/obama-ferguson-gulf-of-mistrust/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81b8bcc1a9426596/6986a5b93617605a3090e1c3/barack-obama2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4263 og:image:height: 2398 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama: "Gulf of Mistrust" Between Law Enforcement and Locals twitter:description: Law enforcement's targeting of minorities has a "corrosive effect on America," the President said Saturday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81b8bcc1a9426596/6986a5b93617605a3090e1c3/barack-obama2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama: Ferguson Exposed 'Gulf of Mistrust' Between Cops and Communities > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 28, 2014 2:04 PM UTC  President Barack Obama waves to the crowd after speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’'s 44th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2014 President Barack Obama waves to the crowd after speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’'s 44th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2014 Susan Walsh—AP by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 28, 2014 2:04 PM UTC President Barack Obama said Saturday that the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo. last month exposed the “gulf of mistrust” that exists between law enforcement and local residents in many communities. Speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus awards dinner, the President said that the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in the St Louis suburb “awakened our nation once again to the reality that people in this room have long understood, which is, in too many communities around the country, a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement.” Statistically, the President noted, blacks in the United States are targeted at a substantially higher rate than whites in their cars and on the street, and more likely to get the death penalty. “Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement, guilty of walking while black, or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness.” “And that has a corrosive effect—not just on the black community; it has a corrosive effect on America,” Obama continued. To reverse the widening gap between minority communities and the people who police them, said Obama, “we need to help communities and law enforcement build trust, build understanding, so that our neighborhoods stay safe and our young people stay on track.” Obama’s remarks Saturday came nearly two months after the shooting of Brown sparked a week of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and outrage around the country at the local police’s handling of the situation. 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