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Dallas Gunman Had Plans for Wider Attack, Police Say Dallas Gunman Had Plans for Wider Attack, Police Say
(about 2 hours later)
DALLAS — The gunman who fatally shot five police officers in Dallas was believed to be planning larger attacks, the city’s police chief said Sunday as he provided new details of how the gunman had scrawled letters in his own blood on a wall before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot and how he had been singing, laughing and taunting officers during negotiations with them. DALLAS — The sniper who fatally shot five police officers in Dallas was believed to be planning a larger attack, the city’s police chief said Sunday, providing new details of how the gunman had been singing, laughing and taunting officers during prolonged negotiations before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot.
David O. Brown, the police chief, said that evidence showed that Micah Johnson, 25, an African-American Army Reserve veteran, had been practicing detonations and that the explosive material had the potential “to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area.” David O. Brown, the police chief, said that evidence showed that Micah Johnson, 25, an African-American Army Reserve veteran who told the police that he wanted kill white officers, had been practicing detonations and that the explosive material had the potential “to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area.”
“We’re convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous,” Chief Brown said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. The chief said he believed Mr. Johnson’s intent was to “make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement’s efforts to punish people of color,” including the fatal police shootings of African-Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota that occurred in the days before the ambush. Chief Brown said Mr. Johnson “was intent on hurting more of us.” “We’re convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous,” Chief Brown said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He said he believed Mr. Johnson’s aim was to “make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement’s efforts to punish people of color,” including the fatal police shootings of African-Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota that occurred in the days before the ambush.
Mr. Brown gave new details of the two hours of negotiations that the police conducted with the suspect, saying Mr. Johnson had demanded to speak to a black negotiator, had sung and laughed, and had asked how many officers he had killed. Mr. Johnson also wrote the letters “R.B.” in blood on the walls of the parking garage where he had hidden, Chief Brown said, an indication that he may have been wounded. It was not clear what those letters referred to, the chief said. Those deaths, the chief said, prompted Mr. Johnson to “fast-track his plans” to kill police officers. Chief Brown said Mr. Johnson “was intent on hurting more of us.”
The details emerged Sunday as the nation was immersed in protests, vigils and church services during a week in which two African-American men were killed by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota. Those deaths were followed by the attack on officers in Dallas, which turned a peaceful demonstration against the other killings into a scene of bloodshed and chaos.
On Saturday night and into early Sunday, the police arrested hundreds of demonstrators in San Francisco; New York; St. Paul; and Baton Rouge, La., including DeRay McKesson, a prominent activist in the Black Lives Matter movement. In Phoenix, officers used pepper spray to disperse crowds.
In St. Paul, protesters angered by the killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights shut down an Interstate highway for hours. At least 20 officers were injured as people threw rocks, bottles and bricks, the police said.
The authorities in Baton Rouge, where Alton Sterling was fatally shot early Tuesday, said they had arrested more than 100 people, charging most with obstructing the road. Among them were three members of the news media and Mr. McKesson, who filmed his encounter with the police using the live-streaming app Periscope.
On Sunday, some activists began circulating a message asking blacks around the country to boycott major retailers and to deposit $100 into a black-owned bank as a means of economically stopping the “slaughtering of black lives.”
Pastors in Dallas and across the nation on Sunday called for reconciliation, compassion and racial healing. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan spoke of a country “worried, frustrated and fatigued over senseless violence.”
“From Minnesota to Louisiana and Texas, one nation under God examines its soul,” he said.“Sadness and heaviness is especially present in our African-American and law enforcement communities.”
He added, “We pray with and for them.”
President Obama on Sunday urged protesters to avoid inflammatory words and actions, which he said would worsen tensions and set back their cause.
“Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause,” said Mr. Obama, who was on a trip to Spain. He also defended the right to protest, saying that Black Lives Matter had grown out of a long protest tradition that dated to the abolitionist movement.
In such movements, Mr. Obama said, “there’s always going to be some folks who say things that are stupid or imprudent or overgeneralize, or are harsh.”
Mr. Obama planned to travel on Tuesday to Dallas, where he would address a memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, near the scene of the shootings, the White House said in a statement.
In his television appearance, Chief Brown provided new details of the two hours of negotiations that the police conducted with Mr. Johnson, saying he had demanded to speak to a black negotiator, had sung and laughed, and had asked how many officers he had killed. Mr. Johnson also wrote the letters “R.B.” in blood on the walls of the parking garage where he had hidden, Chief Brown said, an indication that he may have been wounded. It was not clear what those letters referred to, the chief said.
Chief Brown said Mr. Johnson “obviously had some delusion.” He described the gunman as doing “quite a bit of rambling at the scene.”Chief Brown said Mr. Johnson “obviously had some delusion.” He described the gunman as doing “quite a bit of rambling at the scene.”
Chief Brown said the police were examining Mr. Johnson’s laptop and cellphone and had not completely ruled out the possibility that others were involved. Chief Brown said the police were examining Mr. Johnson’s laptop, journal and cellphone and had not completely ruled out the possibility that others were involved.
Officials in recent days have revealed that Mr. Johnson, who served in the Army Reserve from 2009 to 2015, had bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics in his home. His journal described a methodical attack in which a gunman can keep moving to confuse the enemy. Chief Brown said Sunday that once the protesters started to march in downtown Dallas on Thursday evening, Mr. Johnson had driven his vehicle, a black Chevrolet Tahoe, well ahead of the group to prepare for the attack on police officers escorting the demonstrators.
The chief and Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas robustly defended the police department’s use of the robot bomb that killed Mr. Johnson. Critics have raised questions about the episode, which may have been the first time a local law enforcement agency in the United States had used such a device to kill a suspect. “You could easily see the march coming down the street they were walking, and saw an opportunity with some high-perched positions, a couple of buildings in the pathway of the marchers, and decided to take the high ground and start shooting right away,” Chief Brown said. “And we had to scramble to block intersections, which did expose our officers to this attack. And this suspect took advantage of that. And once he was in a high-perched position, officers did not know where the shots was coming from.”
Officials in recent days have revealed that Mr. Johnson, who served in the Army Reserve from 2009 to 2015, had bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics in his home. His journal described a method of attack in which a gunman can keep moving to confuse the enemy.
The chief and Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas defended the police department’s use of the robot bomb that killed Mr. Johnson. Critics have raised questions about the episode, which may have been the first time a local law enforcement agency in the United States had used such a device to kill a suspect.
Chief Brown said that the suspect had hidden in a corner in the garage and that deploying a sniper would have exposed the police to “great danger.”Chief Brown said that the suspect had hidden in a corner in the garage and that deploying a sniper would have exposed the police to “great danger.”
“We believe that we saved lives by making this decision,” he said.“We believe that we saved lives by making this decision,” he said.
Mr. Rawlings said Sunday during an interview on “Face the Nation” that he supported the department’s use of the bomb, and that the authorities had decided to use it only after negotiators had been unable to persuade Mr. Johnson to surrender. Mr. Rawlings said Sunday during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he supported the department’s use of the bomb, and that the authorities had decided to use it only after negotiators had been unable to persuade Mr. Johnson to surrender.
“It was a difficult decision because the safety of our police officers were in our mind,” he said. “The chief had two options, and he went with this one. I supported him completely because it was the safest way to approach it, and we talked to this man a long time and he threatened to blow up our police officers. We went to his home, we saw that there was bombmaking equipment later, so it was very important that we realize that he may not be bluffing.”“It was a difficult decision because the safety of our police officers were in our mind,” he said. “The chief had two options, and he went with this one. I supported him completely because it was the safest way to approach it, and we talked to this man a long time and he threatened to blow up our police officers. We went to his home, we saw that there was bombmaking equipment later, so it was very important that we realize that he may not be bluffing.”
The two officials spoke as the nation mourned a week of bloodshed that started with fatal police shootings of African-Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota, followed by the Dallas ambush during a protest march. Flags flew at half-staff throughout Dallas on Sunday after the buildings that dot its skyline had again been lit in blue overnight.
In downtown Dallas on Sunday morning, the police continued to block access to more than 20 square blocks as investigators entered the third day of their inquiry. Flags flew at half-staff throughout the city after the buildings that dot its skyline had again been lit in blue overnight.
The Dallas Morning News published a front-page editorial urging the city to emerge as an example of how to bring the nation together.The Dallas Morning News published a front-page editorial urging the city to emerge as an example of how to bring the nation together.
“Today our country seems capable of pulling apart in ways that have not seemed possible in many decades,” the editorial said. “Dallas, again, has been bathed in blood and grief. How we respond will help show a path forward to a divided, reeling nation.”“Today our country seems capable of pulling apart in ways that have not seemed possible in many decades,” the editorial said. “Dallas, again, has been bathed in blood and grief. How we respond will help show a path forward to a divided, reeling nation.”
Mr. Brown called for Americans to support police officers, but acknowledged: “We’re not perfect. There’s cops that don’t need to be cops.” Chief Brown called for Americans to support police officers, but acknowledged: “We’re not perfect. There’s cops that don’t need to be cops.” And he had a message for the protesters: “We’re sworn to protect you and your right to protest. And we will give our lives for it.”
He added: “There is no greater love than to give your life for someone, and that’s what we’re continuing to be willing to do. And we just need to hear from the protesters back to us, ‘We appreciate the work you do for us in our right to protest.’”