The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
President Obama: "Today, on the Lord’s day, all of us stand united in prayer with the people of Baton Rouge"
Watch President Obama's statement on the attack in Baton Rouge:
The Vice President also made a statement on the attack:
"I join President Obama in strongly condemning today’s targeted attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge that killed three police officers and wounded three others. It’s despicable. It’s cowardly. And it's an attack on our very way of life and rule of law.
"Like thousands of other law enforcement officers who got up this morning, the officers killed and wounded were sworn to protect their community. And they responded. They responded to help. And every time they responded to help they knew they were putting themselves in danger. Police officers are an incredible group of men and women. We owe them our gratitude and a commitment not to let others divide us. That's not who they were, that's not who they are.
"My heart goes out to the families. And my enduring thanks to all those police officers who are protecting us as we speak. We owe them.
"May God bless the fallen, their families, and their brothers and sisters in uniform."
After first learning of the attack, President Obama made the following statement on Sunday morning:
"I condemn, in the strongest sense of the word, the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge. For the second time in two weeks, police officers who put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault. These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop.
"I’ve offered my full support, and the full support of the federal government, to Governor Edwards, Mayor Holden, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Baton Rouge Police Department. And make no mistake – justice will be done.
"We may not yet know the motives for this attack, but I want to be clear: there is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas – they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now – all of us – to be at our best.
"Today, on the Lord’s day, all of us stand united in prayer with the people of Baton Rouge, with the police officers who’ve been wounded, and with the grieving families of the fallen. May God bless them all."
