President Obama about police shootings: 'We have seen tragedies like this too many times'

All of us as Americans should be troubled by the shootings. We have seen tragedies like this too many times. • These are not isolated incidents. They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system. • When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if it's because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same. And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us. This is not just a black issue. This is not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we should all care about. • To be concerned about these issues is not to be against law enforcement. • To all of law enforcement I want to be very clear, we know you have a tough job. We mourn those in uniform who are protecting us, who lose their lives. • When people say "black lives matter," that doesn't mean blue lives don't matter. That just means all lives matter. But right now, the big concern is the fact that the data shows black folks are more vulnerable to these kinds of incidents. This isn't a matter of us comparing the value of lives, this is recognizing that there is a particular burden being placed on a group of our fellow citizens. And we should care about that. • I actually genuinely truly believe that the vast majority of American people see this as a problem that we should all care about. And I would just ask those who question the sincerity or the legitimacy of protests and vigils and expressions of outrage, who somehow label those expressions of outrage as quote unquote political correctness, I just ask folks to step back and think, what if this happened to somebody in your family? How would you feel?" • To be concerned about these issues is not political correctness; it's just being American and wanting to live up to our best and highest ideals. • We can do better. And I believe we will do better.