Amata Issues Statement on Dallas Shootings

Washington, D.C. –Friday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, issued the following statement on the shooting of Dallas police officers on Thursday evening.

“I want to send my deepest condolences and prayers to the families of the police officers who were shot down in cold blood yesterday evening in Dallas…officers who paid with their lives for the actions of another. We in this nation, have a long-standing policy of nonviolent protest. This policy has served us very well in the past, leading to such dramatic social changes as the civil rights movement and the laws that stem from it. From Martin Luther King to Gandhi, peaceful protest has proven itself time and time again to be the most effective way to institute change for the better. While I certainly understand the frustration and anger of the Black community due to their mistreatment by individual law enforcement officers, which has led to the horrific deaths of many young black men, we as a nation condemn such horrific, violent and misguided responses, and urge those leaders in the black community to encourage their communities to uphold their long-standing and successful tradition of peaceful protest. There is no question that we must examine how our law enforcement officers are trained, and make any changes we can to ensure that these tragedies do not continue to happen, but violence will solve nothing, and will in fact only increase the divide among the people of the United States, and lead to further tragedies. This is indeed a very sad day for our nation. Let us use this heartbreaking event to institute real social and judicial change through non-violent means. God bless those police officers, their families, and the United States.”

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