Political Quotes

“Thank you, Representative Jeffries, for allowing us to address this most important issue. Mr. Speaker, as we talk about it today and as members of the Congressional Black Caucus address this country and address this Chamber, let me just start with: this is not a Black problem; it is not an African American problem; it is not a Hispanic problem; and it is not a minority problem. This is an American problem that is eroding the fabric and the core of who we are and what makes us exceptional. As we talk about police violence and as we assess it, we try to figure out if we have a few bad apples or whether this is a systematic problem that needs to be addressed. I prefer to believe that it is the former--a few bad apples who need attention. With that, I will use an example. Representative Jeffries, I am sure you know that we had a police shooting in the New Orleans airport a couple of weeks ago when a man who was otherwise peaceful lacked medical attention and was paranoid and went to the airport and intended to do harm. In fact, he did do harm, but in the process, Lieutenant Heather Sylve had no choice in this situation but to fire, to discharge her firearm, and she killed Richard White. She had no choice, and she saved many lives. I would like to believe that there are more Heather Sylves out there than what we are seeing on the news every day. Yet the preponderance of what we are seeing every day is of shootings that are not justified.…”