First funerals held for Dallas police
slain in racially motivated ambush
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[July 14, 2016]
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.
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."
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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.
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![](../images/071416pics/news_h15.jpg)
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, Texas, U.S., July 13, 2016.
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
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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.
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(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)
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