BBC Online :US President Barack Obama has urged police and black communities to come together, saying it should not be “us versus them”, in a town hall meeting on race and policing.Mr Obama and ABC News held the forum amid an increase in racial tensions in the US in recent weeks.Last week a gunman killed five Dallas police at a Black Lives Matter protest. Micah Xavier Johnson told police he was angry after recent shooting deaths of black men at the hands of officers. Alton Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 5 July. A day later, Philando Castile was shot and killed during a traffic stop outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. “I don’t want a generation of young people to grow up thinking either that they have to mistrust the police or alternatively, that the police who are doing a good job and out there… that they’re constantly at risk not just from criminals but also because the community mistrusts them,” Mr Obama said. He added: “It’s going to require all of us not to close ourselves off and go to corners but rather require us to come together and listen to each other.”In the wake of shootings in recent years, President Obama has delivered passionate sermons on what needs to be done to repair the strained relationship between the police and minority communities. For this town hall format, President Obama swapped the oratory for empathy, as he fielded questions from a range of people who had a very personal stake in the issue. “How do we as a nation, stop what is happening?” asked Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castle, who was shot by police in Minnesota. “I ask for your help,” was the plea from the son of Alton Sterling, who was killed in Baton Rouge. How can my police officer son stay safe, after he was attacked, asked Terri, the mother of a Baltimore police officer.For this town hall, Mr Obama’s role was more consoler-in-chief, soothing some of the raw grief felt by families and the police. Some of the underlying problems were examined, but a discussion on solutions was lacking.
