--- title: President Obama Mourns With Dallas description: President Obama spoke at a memorial service for the 5 police officers killed during a protest in Dallas canonical: https://time.com/4403239/president-obama-dallas-memorial-service/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-12T19:26:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T06:22:19.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Mourns With Dallas og:description: Obama spoke at a memorial service for five killed police officers og:url: https://time.com/4403239/president-obama-dallas-memorial-service/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfaf462fbfb7abd3/69889ba6428a9e7ec2cd364a/president-barack-obama-dallas-shooting-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2387 og:image:height: 1343 og:image:alt: Obama attends police memorial service in Dallas, Texas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Mourns With Dallas twitter:description: Obama spoke at a memorial service for five killed police officers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfaf462fbfb7abd3/69889ba6428a9e7ec2cd364a/president-barack-obama-dallas-shooting-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Mourns With Dallas > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Obama's Speech on Dallas Shooting [Watch (HLS stream): Obama's Speech on Dallas Shooting](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dz3aw22c.m3u8) (2:19)  _Published 2016-07-12. At a memorial service Tuesday for five police officers killed in an ambush during a protest in Dallas last week, President Obama said that Dallas was “suffering” but that the city and the nation would ultimately “persevere.”_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:22 AM UTCPublished: Jul 12, 2016 7:26 PM UTC  President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attend a memorial service on July 12, 2016 for five policemen killed last week in an attack in Dallas. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attend a memorial service on July 12, 2016 for five policemen killed last week in an attack in Dallas. Kevin Lamarque—Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:22 AM UTCPublished: Jul 12, 2016 7:26 PM UTC At a memorial service Tuesday for five police officers killed in an ambush during a protest in Dallas last week, President Obama said that Dallas was “suffering” but that the city and the nation would ultimately “persevere.” “We know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, and character, hope,” Obama said, referencing Scripture. “Right now those words are tested because the people of Dallas, people across the country are suffering.” Obama called the names of each of the five victims of the Dallas shootings: Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens and Michael Smith. He noted their lives as family men and remarked that the fallen officers had a shared commitment to protecting the nation. Last Thursday, Obama said each of the men had done their duty in protecting citizens during a peaceful protest — even though there were likely slogans, chants and signs with which they did not agree — only to be gunned down in an act of “not just demented violence, but of racial hatred.” “All of it has left us wounded and angry and hurt,” Obama said, noting the shootings of two black men, [Alton Sterling](http://time.com/4395459/alton-sterling-baton-rouge-police-shooting/?iid=sr-link1) and [Philando Castile](http://time.com/4397086/minnesota-shooting-philando-castile-role-model-school/?iid=sr-link1), by police officers that also occurred last week. Obama said that though he’s sure the events of the past week have sowed division in the U.S., America is not as divided as it seems. “And I know that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds,” he said, noting his own rise attests to that. Given the events of the past week, the President used his remarks to console not just Dallas, but the nation. He spoke the names of Sterling and Castile, saying that “even those who dislike the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ should be able to hear the pain of Alton Sterling’s family.” For over 30 minutes, President Obama argued both sides of the national debate about police brutality, racism and the burdens placed on officers in the line of duty. As a country, he said, we expect law enforcement to police neighborhoods where schools are underfunded, parents are absent, guns are prevalent, and drug and mental-health treatments are nonexistent. At the same time, Obama said, as a country we have to recognize that the racial bias that sparks shootings and begets protest is real and should not be ignored. “If we cannot even talk about these things honestly and openly … we will never break this dangerous cycle,” Obama said. “It is not about finding policies that work; it’s about forging consensus, fighting cynicism and finding the will to make change.” President Obama was joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, as well as former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush. Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn also attended; Cruz flew on Air Force One with the President. Bush, who lives in Dallas, spoke at the memorial service and said the city has experienced “five deaths in the family.” “With their deaths we have lost so much,” he said. “We are grief-stricken, heartbroken and forever grateful.” Bush called for a renewed sense of unity in the wake of the shootings. “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples but judge ourselves by our best intentions,” he said. As Americans, Bush said Tuesday, “we have never been held together by blood or background. We are bound by things of the spirit, by shared commitments and common ideas.” ## Transcript Scripture tells us that in our sufferings there's glory. Because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance character And character. Hope. Right now those words test us. Because the people of Dallas, the people across the country are suffering. And despite the fact that police conduct was the subject of the protest Despite the fact that there must have been signs, or slogans, or chants, with which they profoundly disagree. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] These men, and this department, did their jobs like the professionals that they were. And today in this audience I see people who have protested on behalf of criminal justice reform grieving along side police officers. I see people who mourn for the five officers we lost but also weep for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In this audience I see what's possible. [ APPLAUSE ] I see what's possible when we recognize that we are one American family. All deserving of equal treatment. All deserving equal respect. And I'm not naive I have spoken at too many memorials during the course of this presidency. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I've hugged too many families who've lost a loved one to senseless violence. But America, we know that bias remains. We know it. Whether you are black or white or hispanic or asian or of middle eastern descent. We have all seen this bigotry in our own lives at some point. I've seen how inadequate words can be in bringing about everlasting change. 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