WASHINGTON, December 2 (Sputnik) — The breakdown in trust between police and the communities they are supposed to serve is a national problem that can be solved, US President Barack Obama said Monday.
"That is a simmering distrust that exists between too many police departments and too many communities of color,” the president said after a meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. “The problem is not unique to Ferguson, but is a national problem that needs to and can be solved.”
Obama’s statement came as the White House on Monday announced a $263 million package to train law enforcement agencies and add more resources to police department reform. From that sum, $75 million would be released over a three year period to provide a fifty percent match to states and localities for a "Body Worn Camera Partnership Program" that could help localities to purchase 50,000 of the specialized cameras, according to the White House. The funding proposal will require approval by Congress.
Obama's Community Policing Initiatives follows unrest in Ferguson, Missouri where an unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, was fatally shot in August by a white police officer Darren Wilson. The shooting ignited protests across the country and calls for greater police accountability. Last week a grand jury in Ferguson decided not to indict Wilson, sparking nationwide protests.
Earlier in the day, the president met with officials, community and faith leaders, to discuss how communities and law enforcement can work together to build trust.
