June 2020 Blues Issue Vol 36 No 6

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the need for them to “dominate”
the streets, Abbott said: “What he
was talking about was the need to
ensure that we don’t have a repeat
of that horrific video of the man being
beaten in Dallas, Texas, that so
many people have
seen, and that it’s
necessary that all
states use all law
enforcement tools
to make sure that
more innocent
people are not
either killed or
maimed or injured.”
Trump in his
Monday remarks
at the White
House offered the
Dallas video as
a prime example
of the necessity
of cracking down
on disorder in no
uncertain terms.
“I am your president
of law and
order and an ally
of all peaceful
protesters. But in
recent days our
nation has been
gripped by professional
anarchists,
violent mobs,
arsonists, looters,
criminal, rioters,
Antifa and others,”
Trump said. “A
number of state
and local governments
have failed to take necessary
action to safeguard their residents.
Innocent people have been savagely
beaten, like the young man in Dallas,
Texas, who was left dying on
the street, or the woman in upstate
New York viciously attacked by dangerous
thugs.”
The Dallas Morning News reported
that, “The Dallas man he referred to,
however, was in stable condition,
according to police,” and that fuller
footage than the much-viewed video
showed the man brandishing a
machete “as he chased young men
who seconds later pummeled him
to the ground Saturday night, and it
wasn’t clear who provoked whom.”
Also, even as the president was
describing himself as an “ally of all
peaceful protesters,” National Guard
and U.S. Park Police were dispersing
peaceful protesters outside the
White House using, according to
media reports, rubber bullets, tear
gas and flash-bang shells, allowing
the president to walk across the
cleared space and pose for photos
holding a Bible in front of St. John’s
Episcopal Church, which was briefly
in jeopardy Sunday when a fire was
started in its basement.
Asked by KEYE what can be done
to address the concerns raised by
Floyd’s killing, Abbott said, “it’s a
very very important topic.”
“So this is a
multi-step process.
The first step
is to allow peaceful
protest to take
place while maintaining
control in
our communities.
Then the next
step is to seize
upon this cause
to make sure that
we instill justice
for everybody in
every community,
and that means
building upon
what Texas has
already done,”
Abbott said.
“Remember this,
Texas has been
in the leadership
role in the United
States in criminal
justice reform,
and it is a model
that other states
have been borrowing
upon,”
Abbott said. “We
need to build a
model to make
sure that everyone
feels the embrace
of what true justice
is.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a
Democrat, and Fort Worth Mayor
Betsy Price, a Republican, joined
Abbott at the news conference, as
did McCraw,
Major General Tracy Norris, adjutant
general of the Texas National
Guard, Dallas Police Chief Reneé
Hall, and Fort Worth Police Chief Ed
Kraus.
38 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 39