US Needs to Talk Honestly About Race, Justice - Hillary Clinton

Democratic Presidential Candidate and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that police officers being attacked in the line of duty in US communities is unacceptable for the United States.

 

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — An open dialogue on race and justice is needed in the United States, and it should lead to judicial reforms in the country, Democratic Presidential Candidate and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at Columbia University on Wednesday.

“This is a time for honesty about race and justice in America,” Clinton said during her commencement address. “This is a time for reform.”

On Monday, riots took place in Baltimore following the funeral of African American man Freddie Gray, who died from a severe spinal injury received in unclear circumstances while he was in police custody.

Clinton said that the patterns of US police targeting more African American males in the United States than men of other races is quite apparent given what has happened in Baltimore with Gray, but also in Ferguson with Michael Brown and in Staten Island with Eric Garner.

“Recent tragedies should galvanize us to find balance out of these tragedies in our criminal justice system,” Clinton said. “We have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance.”

Clinton also said that the tragedies of police officers being attacked in the line of duty in US communities are unacceptable for the United States.

“This is a time when our collective effort to devise approaches to problems afflicting us are more important than ever,” Clinton concluded.

The United States has seen a wave of major rallies against police brutality and racial profiling over the past year triggered by numerous police killings of mostly African Americans around the country.