When it was announced that President Barack Obama was going to his hometown of Chicago, there was a wellspring of hope from activists that he would be visiting his old neighborhood on the South Side. That hope was quickly shattered when they learned he would be addressing an assembly of police chiefs, which he did Tuesday afternoon.
Obama may not have gone to his former stomping ground, but it was evoked in so many ways as he discussed community and police relations—an unavoidable hot-button topic.
Unavoidable too was the recent shooting death of NYPD officer Randolph Holder Jr., and the president opened his remarks discussing the incident. “He risked his life,” Obama said, “so that many of you don’t have to.”
After a few more emotion-filled moments recounting Holder’s courage and bravery, the president said it was time for the nation to have “a robust and fair debate on law enforcement policy. We should find some common ground” on this issue, he stated.
As if addressing recent comments by FBI Director James Comey and his contention that the “Ferguson effect” has hampered police and increased the crime rate, Obama said, “We got to stick to the facts.” Comey has admitted that he has no hard data to back his theory. “We can’t cherry-pick data on crime,” the president added.
The president said there were three things he wanted to focus on during his speech. First of all, he said, he wanted the police to have “all the resources you need to do your job.” Secondly, he said, “criminal justice reform” is needed, particularly on the gathering of crime statistics.
He said the third thing was “reducing the risk police officers face in the field,” and for this statement he received the longest and loudest ovation.
There was also sustained applause when he mentioned that his budget will have an increase in funding for the police.
Overall, it was a very balanced speech, and the president was mindful of the concerns from the community about the excessive abuse from the police and the dangers the officers faced each day. This balance was vividly presented when he cited the mother worried about safety of her son and the policeman’s wife and her anxiety waiting at home for her husband to end his shift.
Another instance of collective response occurred when Obama said that in some “neighborhoods, it’s easier to purchase a gun than a book.”
He expressed an ongoing problem in the nation about massive incarceration without saying the words, but he did note that the U.S. represents only 5 percent of the world’s population but has 25 percent of its prisoners.
Just as he began discussion of the widespread racial bias in the criminal justice system, Brian Williams of MSNBC interrupted the program to have one of his reporters comment on the speech.
Obama had just finished recalling his own encounters with the police long before “I was part of a motorcade.” He was on the verge of bringing the South Side into the discussion without going there.
