Law enforcement officials are still looking for answers after an attack on police at a rally in Dallas left a number of officers dead and wounded. A representative from the state’s police association responds to the incident. We also learn some vegetarian recipes influenced by world flavors.
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Amid Shootings And Protests, Wisconsin's Professional Police Association Calls For Calm
Thursday’s shooting of 12 Dallas police officers — five fatally — by a suspect whose goal was to kill white police officers has left many stunned. The deadly attack happened after an already emotional week following the deaths of two black men at the hands of police.
Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, called for a sense of calm from everyone in the community and the nation at large.
“Often times, when these controversial incidents occur, whether it involves something that a police officer has done or the contrary like what we saw last night, it’s far too common for people to engage in finger-pointing and hyperbolic attacks, and there’s just nothing to be gained from that,” he said.
Palmer said the nation is at a “critical point” in history, and if there isn’t a significant change in how these incidents are approached, responded to and discussed, things will only get worse.
“I think the issues surrounding policing in America and institutional racism are far too complex to blame on any one person or any one organization or a profession. We really do need our leaders at the national level, state level and the local level to extend a hand,” he said.
Palmer said there are three things that the national community needs to actively and aggressively pursue. Mandating independent investigations of officer-involved shootings, implementing body cameras across the country and better collection and analyzation of police conduct.
“Until we do those things, until we equip ourselves with more information, I don’t see us being able to move beyond where we are in terms of this totally destructive discourse in this country,” he said.
Palmer said being supportive of movements like Black Lives Matter while also being supportive of the police can exists together.
“It is OK to recognize the service and sacrifice of the dedicated men and women of our law enforcement community and still have questions and concerns about how officers conduct themselves,” he said.
Palmer said Wisconsin has made significant gains to improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve as well as holding officers accountable to their performance and community standards, pointing out the fact that Wisconsin is one of only three states that mandates independent investigations of officer-involved shootings.
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Reactions And The Aftermath Of The Dallas Shootings
A peaceful protest in Dallas, Texas last night was thrown into chaos as shots rang out and tore through the crowd of demonstrators. The people gathered were protested the killings of two African American men in two different parts of the country by law enforcement. The shooting in Dallas was targeted at the police. We’re joined today by Jim Palmer of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association to talk about last night’s events and where we can go from here.
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Food Friday: Whole World Vegetarian
On this edition of Food Friday, we talk about vegetarian recipes from around the world. Our guest tells us about some popular international meat-free dishes and also shares ways to make classic meat-based dishes vegetarian-friendly.
Episode Credits
- Judith Siers-Poisson Host
- Veronica Rueckert Host
- Haleema Shah Producer
- J. Carlisle Larsen Producer
- Jim Palmer Guest
- Marie Simmons Guest
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