Trump in Dallas, snubs 3 top African-American law enforcers

Sheriff Marian Brown, U. Renee Hall and DA John Creuzot

Sheriff Marian Brown, Dallas Police chief U. Renee Hall and DA John Creuzot: snubbed by Trump in Dallas

Sheriff Marian Brown, Dallas Police chief U. Renee Hall and DA John Creuzot: snubbed by Trump in Dallas

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Dallas on Thursday for a discussion on race and policing.

But in a move that raised eyebrows, he excluded the three top law enforcement officials in the county – a police chief, sheriff and district attorney.

They are all African-Americans, reports Dallas Morning News.

While the police chief of Glenn Heights, a town of 11,000 south of Dallas, will be part of the discussion,
Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall, Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown and District Attorney John Creuzot were not invited.

Without them, Creuzot said, “of course [Trump] would not be getting the full picture of advice from law enforcement. I don’t know who he’s going to get it from. I mean, we are the people on the ground.”

The White House defended the snub, insisting the president will still hear a diversity of views before heading to a $10 million campaign dinner with donors who pony up at least $580,600 each for a meal and souvenir photo.

The presidential visit comes amid heightened tensions nationwide since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black suspect pinned by the neck for nearly nine minutes under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer now facing a murder charge.

Trump has demanded a military crackdown on protests nationwide, boasting again on Thursday about his stroll last week to a church near the White House, where he brandished a Bible as cameras clicked, after National Guard and Park Police used pepper gas and rubber pellets to clear protesters.

The nation’s top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, apologized Thursday for taking part in that photo opportunity, calling it a “mistake” that created “a perception of the military involved in domestic politics,” an extraordinary rebuke of the commander in chief that echoed Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s rejection of Trump’s call for putting federal troops on the streets of U.S. cities.

Air Force One landed at Love Field at 2:55 p.m. CT. The president has no public appearances planned. He will sit down with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner for an interview during the visit. He left the White House at noon without speaking to reporters.

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