Standard News

Hide Advertisement
  • Business
  • Culture
  • News
  • Technology
  • Trending
Site logo
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

First funerals held for Dallas police slain in racially motivated ambush

By Reuters 3 min read
Katrina Aherns sits with son Magnus Aherns during the funeral of her husband, slain Dallas police officer Lorne Ahrens following the multiple police shootings in Dallas

By Jon Herskovitz and Lisa Maria Garza

DALLAS (Reuters) – Thousands of police officers joined by ordinary citizens attended funerals on Wednesday for three of the policemen shot dead in a racially motivated ambush attack last week that intensified America’s long-running debate on race and justice.

Advertisement

At the Dallas megachurch called The Potter’s House, officers by the thousands crowded into the funeral for Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson, who had married a fellow officer just two weeks before last Thursday’s attack.

“I know many of you have dealt with these things quite often,” pastor Rick Lamb of Northside Baptist Church told the crowd. “Today is about Brent and trying to bring some closure to this family as they finish the job that they didn’t want to start, but had to start last week.”

As Thompson’s funeral procession began the roughly 55-mile (89 km) journey back to his home of Corsicana, several police helicopters flew over the church as bagpipers played “Amazing Grace” and hundred of officers from different departments saluted his silver-colored casket.

Funerals also were held for Sergeant Michael Smith, 55, and Officer Lorne Ahrens, 48, of the Dallas Police Department.

Dallas police officer Eddie Coffey described Ahrens as a calming presence and a down-to-earth man.

“He was the guy you always wanted to show up as your backup,” Coffey said. “He wanted to make sure everyone, from top down, made it home safely.”

The funerals came a day after President Barack Obama praised the slain officers’ heroism, condemned the attack as an “act not just of demented violence but of racial hatred” and made an impassioned plea for national unity.

The five officers were killed by a former U.S. Army Reserve soldier who told police that he was angry about police killings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier that week and wanted to “kill white people,” especially police.

Funerals for the other two slain officers, Michael Krol, 40, and Patrick Zamarripa, 32, are expected later in the week.

The shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota were the latest in a series of high-profile police killings of black men in various U.S. cities that have brought intense scrutiny of police use of force, particularly against black suspects.

The officers slain in Dallas last week were patrolling a demonstration decrying the killings by police of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile, 32, outside St. Paul, Minnesota.

BATON ROUGE POLICE SUED

Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sued the Baton Rouge Police Department in federal court on Wednesday, alleging that police violated protesters’ rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

Protesters have been staging demonstrations in the city since Sterling’s death last week. The lawsuit also accused police of using excessive force and wrongful arrests to disperse protesters.

Police responded to peaceful rallies with “a military-grade assault on protesters’ bodies and rights,” the lawsuit stated. “Law enforcement officers have escalated peaceful situations,” it added.

Baton Rouge police spokesman Sergeant Don Coppola said the department would not comment on pending litigation.

Sterling’s 15-year-old son, Cameron Sterling, urged people to refrain from violence as they demand reforms in the U.S. criminal justice system.

“I feel that people in general, no matter what the race is, should come together as one united family,” Cameron Sterling told reporters in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Mart, where his father was killed. “I want everyone to protest the right way. Protest in peace. … No violence, whatsoever.”

Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for Sterling’s son, said he hoped the officer who shot Sterling would be criminally charged following the federal investigation into the incident.

“We want justice. We want an indictment,” Bamberg said.

A lawyer for the officer has denied race was a factor in Sterling’s shooting.

(Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Justin Madden in Chicago; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Will Dunham)

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EL-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1JH-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1JI-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1JF-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1JE-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1JG-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EN-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1JD-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EO-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EP-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1ES-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1ER-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EQ-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EV-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1EW-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1A8-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C16I-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C16L-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C16K-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC6C1A5-VIEWIMAGE

Advertisement - Continue reading below

Republican push to impeach U.S. IRS chief hit by Democrats
News
Reuters 2 min read

Republican push to impeach U.S. IRS chief hit by Democrats

Harry Potter ‘Cursed Child’ producers crack down on scalpers
Entertainment
Reuters 2 min read

Harry Potter ‘Cursed Child’ producers crack down on scalpers

Obama, Senate Democrats urge Zika funding vote as reserves run low
News
Reuters 2 min read

Obama, Senate Democrats urge Zika funding vote as reserves run low

Video of Mexican and Punjabi 4th of July Celebration Goes Viral
Culture
Steven Lerner 2 min read

Video of Mexican and Punjabi 4th of July Celebration Goes Viral

Haunted America: Savannah, GA
Culture
loren 7 min read

Haunted America: Savannah, GA

‘Staff errors’ led to 152 U.S. inmates serving extra time: report
News
Reuters 2 min read

‘Staff errors’ led to 152 U.S. inmates serving extra time: report

Vice President Pence Visits NASA’s Multi-User Spaceport
News
Jason Owen 3 min read

Vice President Pence Visits NASA’s Multi-User Spaceport

Grandpoint Bank offers cyber insurance against wire-transfer fraud
News
Reuters 1 min read

Grandpoint Bank offers cyber insurance against wire-transfer fraud

Muslim woman set on fire in New York not targeted due to faith: police
News
Reuters 1 min read

Muslim woman set on fire in New York not targeted due to faith: police

Surprise Kanye West concert canceled, fans jam Manhattan street
News
Reuters 1 min read

Surprise Kanye West concert canceled, fans jam Manhattan street

load more Loading posts...

sidebar

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

sidebar-alt

  • About Us
  • Imprint
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy