Obama: I Don’t ‘Comment on the Legal Processes,’ Cops ‘Entitled to Due Process’

President Obama said that the officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death are “are also entitled to due process and rule of law” and that “it is my practice not to comment on the legal processes involved. That would not be appropriate,” in a statement on Friday.

Obama stated, “it is my practice not to comment on the legal processes involved. That would not be appropriate. But, I can tell you that justice needs to be served. All the evidence needs to be presented. Those individuals who are charged obviously, are also entitled to due process and rule of law. And so, I want to make sure that our legal system runs the way it should. And the Justice Department and our new Attorney General is in communications with Baltimore officials to make sure that any assistance we can provide on the investigation is provided. But, what I think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else, is the truth. That’s what people around the country expect. And to the extent that it’s appropriate, this administration will help local officials get to the bottom of exactly what happened. In the meantime, I’m gratified that we’ve seen the constructive, thoughtful protests that have been taking place. Peaceful, but clear calls for accountability, that those have been managed over the last couple of days in a way that’s ultimately positive for Baltimore and positive for the country. And I hope that approach to non-violent protest and community engagement continues. Then finally, as I’ve said for the last year, we are going to continue to work with the task force that we put together post-Ferguson. I’m actually going to be talking to mayors who are interested in figuring ways to re-build trust between community and police and to focus on some of the issues that were raised by the task force right after this meeting. Our efforts to make sure that we’re providing greater opportunity for young people in these communities, all those things are going to be continuing top priorities for the administration, and we’ll probably have some more announcements and news about that in the days and weeks to come.”

(h/t Real Clear Politics)

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