Obama: Police Brutality Is American Problem, Not ‘Brown Problem’

President Barack Obama speaks to leading CEOs to discuss ways to promote the economy and create jobs during his last two years in office, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, at the Business Roundtable Headquarters in Washington... President Barack Obama speaks to leading CEOs to discuss ways to promote the economy and create jobs during his last two years in office, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, at the Business Roundtable Headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) MORE LESS
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President Barack Obama said Wednesday that there’s a very visible sense among Americans that the police and justice systems aren’t treating everyone fairly. Those comments came in response to the news that no charges would be brought against the New York Police Department officer in the choke-holding case that resulted in the death of Eric Garner.

Obama, speaking at the 2014 White House Tribal Nations Conference, said that he had just spoken with Attorney General Eric Holder who would have more specific comments about the case. He also referenced protests in Ferguson, Mo., over the death of unarmed teen Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer, a case which also didn’t result in an indictment.

“But I want everybody to know here as well as everybody who may be viewing my remarks here today, we are not going to let up until we see a strengthening of the trust and a strengthening of the accountability that exists between our communities and our law enforcement,” Obama said. “I say that as someone who believes law enforcement has an incredibly difficult job.”

Obama continued that “right now unfortunately we are seeing too many instances where people just do not have confidence that folks are being treated fairly.”

“In some cases those may be misconceptions but in some cases that’s a reality,” Obama said. “And it is incumbent upon all of us as Americans, regardless of race, region, faith, that we recognize this is an American problem and not just a black problem or a brown problem or a native American problem, this is an American problem, when anybody in this country is not being treated under the law that’s a problem and it’s my job as president to help solve it.”

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  1. I disagree. I believe it’s a poor people problem and most people don’t give a shit about them.

  2. This headline doesn’t really get at his remarks—he’s not saying that there isn’t a racial component to the issue, but that it’s an issue that should matter to all Americans regardless of race.

  3. Avatar for sooner sooner says:

    I’m pretty certain that most right wingers don’t see this as a 'Murican problem. Kids like Michael Brown are “thugs” while James Holmes is just a troubled boy.

    Our justice system has developed multiple tiers depending on color, class and location. That’s not going to change overnight, especially when our media assigns credibility to the views of Hannity, O’Reilly, Scarborough, Jackson, Sharpton, Hucklebee and other attention seeking pundits whose views are irrelevant but at the same time inflammatory.

    Difficult to have a fruit bearing discussion with these idiots flapping their gums and getting media exposure.

    You know what? I have no faith that things will ever change because if they did it would be to the detriment of the fifth estate. Can’t have that now can we?

    We’ve become a nation of cattle.

  4. Careful about that headline: it looks like O is talking only about Michael Brown when he is actually speaking to everyone but the quotes and capitalization could be read otherwise.

  5. Thank you. The day when I hear of one of the White “patriots” in OH gunned down by police due to open carry, I’ll believe it’s an AMERICAN problem.

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