Police Chief David Brown delved into Stevie Wonder's back catalogue to express his feelings at the Dallas memorial service for the five murdered officers Tuesday, quoting at length from the singer's 1977 hit "As." 
 
 After talking about his youth listening to the likes of Al Green and Teddy Pendergrass and trying to get dates, Brown asked the audience at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center to imagine him with an afro and bell bottoms. 
 
 Then he said he would "pull out some Stevie Wonder for these families," referring to the relatives of Brent Thompson, Lorne Ahrens, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol and Michael Smith who were killed during a mass shooting Thursday night. He went on to quote from the middle part of the song. 
 
 "We all know sometimes life's hates and troubles / 
 
 Can make you wish you were born in another time and space / 
 
 But you can bet your life times that and twice its double / 
 
 That God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed / So make sure when you say you're not in it but not of it / 
 
 You're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell / 
 
 Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love / 
 
 And maybe your children's grandchildren / 
 
 And their great-great grandchildren will tell them / 
 
 I'll be loving you." 
 
 "Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky - I'll be loving you. Until the ocean covers every mountain high - I'll be loving you," he continued, before reciting several more lines of the song. 
 
 President Barack Obama, who was next to the stage, responded with a quick quip before making his own remarks. "Chief Brown, I'm so glad I met Michelle first because she loves Stevie Wonder," he said. 
 
 After Dallas PD chief reads Stevie Wonder to honor fallen, @POTUS pays homage to him with quick joke pic.twitter.com/SKDfRv5dvD — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama then embarked on a speech that addressed the events of the last week that saw two black men killed by police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Falcon Heights, Minnesota and subsequently five officers shot by Micah Johnson in Dallas. 
 
 The president praised the police force, noting that for officers "the reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law." 
 
 He also insisted that the country "must reject despair" and "try to find some meaning amidst our sorrow," adding that "we are not as divided as we seem." 
 
 .@POTUS: "We are not as divided as we seem... I know because I know America" pic.twitter.com/8Uh4s40rVM — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama also said he had seen how "inadequate" his words had been. 
 
 Obama and Brown were joined by former President George W. Bush, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, who were among the attendees at the 2,000-capacity venue. 
 
 PANORAMIC inside Dallas' crowded Meyerson Symphony Ctr as police await Presidents Obama, Bush in memorial service. pic.twitter.com/M67GrVequk — Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) July 12, 2016 
 
 Inside, portraits of the five officers who were killed stood on the stage in front of the piano. 
 
 Portraits of the five officers killed during the shooting in downtown Dallas Thursday night were displayed at the service. Image: APAP Photo/Eric Gay 
 
 They were killed while standing guard as people peacefully protested the police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier in the week. The attack ended with the gunman, Micah Johnson, 25, blown up by a bomb delivered by a police robot. 
 
 DART police officer Misty McBride, right, is embraced by a fellow officer as she arrives for a memorial at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Image: APAP Photo/Eric Gay 
 
 Five empty seats in the auditorium were decorated with American flags in their honor. 
 
 Five empty seats for the five fallen Dallas PD officers at today's memorial. pic.twitter.com/mkEuAvYCwa — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 During the interfaith service, choirs from six churches across the city sung for some time before the front row of the stage filled with dignitaries. 
 
 "Amazing Grace" and "It Is Well With My Soul" were among the hymns chosen. 
 
 Choir has started singing at memorial service for Dallas' fallen officers. #DallasStrong pic.twitter.com/kKcXmSCfsy — Dallas Weekly (@dallasweekly) July 12, 2016 
 
 Bush spoke about unity, insisting that "the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together." 
 
 Fmr. Pres. Bush: "The forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together" pic.twitter.com/hVy3ycRfWS — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 The service ended with officials and dignitaries joining hands as the choir sung. 
 
 Officials and dignitaries join hands as choir sings. #DallasMemorial pic.twitter.com/qd2ZChdoyL — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama and Biden were also due to meet privately Tuesday with the families of the killed officers as well as some of those injured. At least nine other officers and two civilians were injured in the attack. 
 
 Obama called the families of the two black men shot by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota in the week leading up to the Dallas shooting, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, ahead of the service. 
 
 Obama spoke to Valerie Castile, Philando Castile's mother, and Alton Sterling's family ahead of service. (Photo: AP) pic.twitter.com/cvmGUkupZf — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama and Biden met with police chiefs, sheriffs and officers Monday to discuss adopting a series of reforms drafted by a White House task force on policing, and to talk about how to restore trust between officers and the communities they serve. 
 
 The Associated Press contributed reporting. 
 
 Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. ||||| Gaye Arbuckle lived through an extraordinary moment Tuesday afternoon. She sang a solo, a gospel song, which for her is nothing unusual. But on this day, there was nothing even remotely usual, or normal, or commonplace about whom she sang for. 
 
 The crowd included President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama; Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden; and former President George W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Laura Bush. 
 
 It also included a capacity crowd of more than 2,000 people at the Meyerson Symphony Center, many of them law enforcement officers still feeling a deep, raw grief over the loss of five from their ranks, men who were gunned down Thursday night during a protest in downtown Dallas. 
 
 Arbuckle's performance was extraordinary, a healing moment in a service that sought to heal, in whatever way it could. 
 
 She sang "Total Praise," by Richard Smallwood. The crowd appeared especially moved when she sang the lines: 
 
 Lord, I will lift my eyes to the hills 
 
 Knowing my help is coming from you 
 
 Your peace you give me in time of the storm 
 
 "I thought it was a good song for healing," said Arbuckle, 51, a Dallas native who graduated from Carter High School in 1982 and who for the past 12 years has served as minister of music at Concord Church in Oak Cliff. She's the mother of two children who live in Dallas, where she still makes her home. She had been picked as one of two people to lead the 60-member choir that sang during Tuesday's emotionally moving service, which ended with a presidential address. 
 
 Arbuckle said it had long been one of her dreams, an item on her "bucket list," to sing not just for any president but President Obama in particular. 
 
 She picked "Total Praise," hoping to soothe, however slightly, those feeling "stress, pain, sadness and everything going on in the city right now. We needed something that would encourage all of us, white, black, brown, it doesn't matter. In Dallas, we just need healing." 
 
 Given the ears that would hear her sing, however, her Monday night and Tuesday morning emotions went way beyond any normal sense of stage fright, or apprehension, or anxiety. 
 
 But she handled it like the pro that she is. 
 
 "We had rehearsal Monday," she said. "I just taught the song, and I wasn't really planning to lead the song, but then I thought, 'I'm going to go ahead and lead it, and maybe that will give a little more expression to the song.' I wanted to, then I thought not to, and then this morning, I thought, 'What an opportunity to give people strength during this time when people are hurting.' " 
 
 Arbuckle will never forget the families of the fallen sitting on the front row, in particular a woman, who was either a sister or wife of one of the officers killed in the line of duty. The woman sobbed uncontrollably as the scarlet-haired Arbuckle sang out powerfully. 
 
 "I thought, 'This has to be what God wants me to do.' I felt I was being called to give her strength, in whatever way I could." 
 
 After the service, one of those who sought out Arbuckle for praise was Michelle Obama, who told her how much she loved the song and how dynamically Arbuckle had sung it. President Bush told her it was "great." Vice President Biden added his commendation, calling it "a great performance." 
 
 Arbuckle lauded the service as a whole, saying, "I thought it was needed. Desperately." She, for one, came away feeling a collective reassurance "that we live in a country, a place where we feel, rightly, that we can be protected by police. It was reassuring to feel that everything will be better than it has been." 
 
 She also felt doubly reassured in having picked Smallwood's song, because it shows us "where our power comes from — it comes from God. People need to know that, even though it may not look like it right now, God has everything planned. I hope everybody felt blessed, because that's what it's all about." 
 
 This is Arbuckle singing a solo about a year ago: 
 
 On Twitter: 
 
 @mgranberry ||||| President Barack Obama, speaking in Dallas this afternoon to a community — and a nation — reeling from last week's deadly sniper attack, said Americans must reject despair during these tough times. 
 
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 "We turn on the TV or surf the internet, and we can watch positions harden and lines drawn and people retreat to their respective corners," he said at a multi-faith memorial at the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center. "Politicians calculate how to grab attention or avoid the fallout. We see all this, and it's hard not to think sometimes that the center won't hold. And that things might get worse. I understand. I understand how Americans are feeling. But, Dallas, I'm here to say we must reject such despair." 
 
 Obama, who cut short a trip to Europe to be at the memorial, continued, "I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds. I know we'll make it because of what I've experienced in my own life. What I've seen of this country and its people, their goodness and decency, as president of the United States." 
 
 He said, "This is the America I know," citing how protesters and police officers are mourning side by side, grieving for the five officers slain in Dallas as well as the two black men recently killed by police — Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. 
 
 "In this audience I see what's possible," Obama said. "I see what's possible when we recognize that we are one American family. All deserving of equal treatment. All deserving equal respect. All children of God. That's the America I know." 
 
 He continued that often with memorials — having spoken at too many during his presidency and hugging "too many families" — the spirit for change falls to daily life, and words are inadequate. 
 
 "Because they're comfortable," he said. "We're used to them. I've seen how inadequate words can be in bringing about lasting change. I've seen how inadequate my own words have been." 
 
 He criticized the instinct to dismiss people's experiences and their pain over needing to instruct their children how to respond to police officers so they don't get shot. 
 
 "When all this takes place more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act? We cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protests as troublemakers or paranoid," he said. "You can't simply dismiss it as a symptom of political correctness or reverse racism. To have your experience denied like that, dismissed by those in authority, dismissed perhaps even by your white friends and co-workers and fellow church members, again and again and again? It hurts. Surely, we can see that. All of us." 
 
 The president also criticized how much society asks police officers to do in the current system, echoing the remarks earlier this week of Dallas Police Chief David Brown. 
 
 "So much of the tensions between police departments and minority communities that they serve is because we ask the police to do too much and we ask too little of ourselves," he said. "As a society, we choose to underinvest in decent schools. We allow poverty to fester so that entire neighborhoods offer no prospect for gainful employment. We refuse to fund drug treatment and mental health programs." 
 
 While Obama took on the division and tensions of race in America, he called on unity in the country to address those issues. 
 
 "Because the vicious killer of these police officers — it won't be the last person who tries to make us turn on one another. The killer in Orlando wasn't. Nor was the killer in Charleston. We know there is evil in this world. That's why we need police departments," he said. "But as Americans, we can decide that people like this killer will ultimately fail. They will not drive us apart. We can decide to come together and make our country reflect the good inside us, the hopes and simple dreams we share." 
 
 Obama began his remarks with scripture, returning to it throughout his remarks. To Obama's side, five chairs remained empty except for a folded American flag on each one as a tribute to the fallen officers. 
 
 "Scripture tells us that in our sufferings, there is glory. Because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character. And character, hope. Sometimes the truths of these words are hard to see," Obama said. "Right now those words test us. Because the people of Dallas, people across the country are suffering." 
 
 He spent time speaking about the fallen officers and details from their lives, including Lorne Ahrens, who "the night before he died, he bought dinner for a homeless man," Obama said, adding that Ahrens' two children still don't understand what happened. 
 
 "These men and their families shared a commitment to something larger than themselves. They weren't looking for their names to be up in lights. They'd tell you the pay was decent but wouldn't make you rich," Obama said. "They could have told you about the stress and long shifts. They probably agree with Chief Brown when he said that cops don't expect to hear the words 'thank you' very often. Especially from those who need them the most. No. The reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law, that the maintenance of that law is a hard and daily labor, that in this country we don't have soldiers in the streets or militias setting the rules." 
 
 The president worked late into the night consulting Scripture to write his remarks, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One traveling to Dallas. 
 
 Obama stressed the way forward is unity — a theme throughout his speech and the entire service. 
 
 "Hope does not arise by putting our fellow man down. It is found by lifting others up. And that's what I take away from the lives of these outstanding men," he said. "The pain we feel may not soon pass. But my faith tells me that they did not die in vain. I believe our sorrow can make us a better country. I believe our righteous anger can be transformed into more justice and more peace." 
 
 Former President George W. Bush spoke before Obama. 
 
 "These slain officers were the best among us," Bush said at the memorial before naming the officers and providing some details about each one. "Most of us imagine that if the moment called for it, we would risk our lives to protect a spouse or a child. Those wearing the uniform assume that risk for the safety of strangers." 
 
 Bush said that often "we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions" and spoke of the need for unity and tolerance. 
 
 "This is the bridge across our nation's deepest divisions. And it is not merely a matter of tolerance but of learning from the struggles and stories of our fellow citizens and finding our better selves in the process," he said. "At our best, we know we have one country, one future, one destiny. We do not want the unity of grief, nor do we want the unity of fear. We want the unity of hope, affection and high purpose." 
 
 "To wage this battle against violence and separatism, today must be about unity," Dallas Mayor Michael S. Rawlings said at the start of the service. "Unity among faiths, unity among police and citizens and, yes, unity among politicians. In recent days I've seen unity, even before that tragedy, when police and protesters mingled peacefully." 
 
 He spoke of bringing together the interfaith choir and the former president and the current one to speak at the memorial. 
 
 For more than an hour after today's service, the President and First Lady visited with the families of the officers who were killed and many of those who were wounded, including law enforcement officers from Dallas Police Department, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and El Centro College. The Vice President and Dr. Biden and President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush participated as well. 
 
 This is the 11th time Obama has traveled to a community in the wake of a mass shooting. His visit comes as racial tension across the country mounts as the number of black men killed by police continues to grow. 
 
 Obama was joined on Air Force One — which touched down at Dallas Love Field at 12:15 p.m. local time — by Ted Cruz, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Marc Veasey and Eddie Bernice Johnson. Veasey and Johnson, both Democrats, are from districts in the Dallas area. 
 
 Cruz, R-Texas, a forceful critic of Obama, was aboard the plane at the president's invitation —- a sign of setting partisanship aside during a time of tragedy. Just last month, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., did the same when he traveled with Obama to Orlando to pay respects to those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting. 
 
 Obama invited House Speaker Paul Ryan to fly on Air Force One to attend the service, but the Republican leader was unable to attend, his spokeswoman AshLee Strong said. ||||| Today, President Obama addressed the families of the fallen and the Dallas community to honor the five police officers who died in the line of service last Thursday. Watch his remarks: 
 
 Here are a few key moments from his address. 
 
 On the exemplary lives of the five fallen officers: 
 
 "These men & their families shared a commitment to something larger than themselves." —@POTUS at the #DallasMemorial https://t.co/fbQxve1JMB — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "The reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law; that the maintenance of that law is a hard and daily labor; that in this country, we don’t have soldiers in the streets or militias setting the rules; instead, we have public servants – police officers – like the men who were taken away from us." 
 
 On the police department and community of Dallas: 
 
 “I see what’s possible when we recognize that we are one American family, all deserving of equal treatment” —@POTUS https://t.co/HtPzzOR29l — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "I see what’s possible when we recognize that we are all one American family, all deserving of equal treatment and respect. That’s the America that I know." 
 
 On whether the divides of race can be bridged: 
 
 “I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem.” —@POTUS https://t.co/eNwmJM5UVW — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. I know that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds. I know we’ll make it because of what I’ve experienced in my own life, what I’ve seen of this country and its people as President. And I know it because of what we’ve seen here in Dallas – how all of you, out of great suffering, have shown us the meaning of perseverance, and character, and hope." 
 
 On the need to act on what we know about existing challenges in our society: 
 
 "We cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers" —@POTUS #DallasMemorial https://t.co/S2Lueskwzf — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "If we cannot even talk about these things – honestly and openly – not just in the comfort of our own circles, but with those who look different than us or bring a different perspective, then we will never break this dangerous cycle. So in the end, it is not about finding policies that work; it’s about forging consensus; fighting cynicism; and finding the political will to make change. 
 
 On whether Americans can find the character to open our hearts to each other: 
 
 "With an open heart, we can learn to stand in each other's shoes." —@POTUS at the #DallasMemorial https://t.co/4fCI6iLBy4 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "That’s what we must pray for – each of us. A new heart. Not a heart of stone, but a heart open to the fears and hopes and challenges of our fellow citizens. That’s what we’ve seen in Dallas these past few days. That’s what we must sustain." 
 
 On our capacity to change: 
 
 "We cannot match their courage, but we can strive to match their devotion." — @POTUS on honoring the fallen officers https://t.co/bF5WPhxTCh — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "As we get older, we learn we don’t always have control of things – not even a President does. But we do have control over how we respond to the world. We do have control over how we treat one another." 
 
 On the night of July 7, 2016, a lone gunman targeted the police in Dallas who were keeping people safe during a peaceful protest. At least eleven officers were shot, five were killed, and others were injured -- including two civilians. As Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings reported, the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 
 
 While in Warsaw, Poland for the NATO Summit, President Obama offered the following statement: 
 
 
 
 Attorney General Loretta Lynch made a statement on the attacks in Dallas. 
 
 We must continue working to build trust between communities and law enforcement. We must continue working to guarantee every person in this country equal justice under the law. We must take a hard look at the ease with which wrongdoers can get their hands on deadly weapons and the frequency with which they use them. We must reflect on the kind of country we want to build and the kind of society we want to pass on to our children. Attorney General Loretta Lynch 
 
 You can read her full statement here. 
 
 As a mark of respect for the victims of the attack on police officers, the President has also issued a Presidential Proclamation ordering that flags will be flown at half-staff throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, July 12, 2016. 
 
 see the proclamation 
 
 Transcript of President Obama's statement: 
 
 
 
 With your understanding, I want to begin with a few words about the situation back in the United States, specifically the situation in Dallas, Texas. 
 
 My team has been keeping me updated throughout the morning of the evening in Dallas. I spoke this morning with Mayor Rawlings of Dallas to convey the deepest condolences of the American people. I told him that the federal government will provide whatever assistance Dallas may need as it deals with this tremendous tragedy. 
 
 We still don’t know all the facts. What we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement. Police in Dallas were on duty, doing their jobs, keeping people safe during peaceful protests. These law enforcement officers were targeted, and nearly a dozen officers were shot. Five were killed. Other officers and at least one civilian were wounded -- some are in serious condition, and we are praying for their recovery. 
 
 As I told Mayor Rawlings, I believe that I speak for every single American when I say that we are horrified over these events, and that we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas. According to police, there are multiple suspects. We will learn more, undoubtedly, about their twisted motivations. But let's be clear: There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement. The FBI is already in touch with the Dallas police, and anyone involved in these senseless murders will be held fully accountable. Justice will be done. 
 
 I will have more to say about this as the facts become more clear. For now, let me just say that even as yesterday I spoke about our need to be concerned, as all Americans, about racial disparities in our criminal justice system, I also said yesterday that our police have an extraordinarily difficult job and the vast majority of them do their job in outstanding fashion. I also indicated the degree to which we need to be supportive of those officers who do their job each and every day, protecting us and protecting our communities. 
 
 Today is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices that they make for us. We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic. And in the days ahead, we’re going to have to consider those realities as well. 
 
 In the meantime, today our focus is on the victims and their families. They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving. Police across America, which is a tight-knit family, feels this loss to their core. And we're grieving with them. I’d ask all Americans to say a prayer for these officers and their families. Keep them in your thoughts. And as a nation, let’s remember to express our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue -- not just today, but every day. ||||| Outrage alert: Some conservatives have a beef with Michelle Obama’s invitation to a rapper who once called for the “burn”-ing of George W. Bush to perform this week at White House event.Hip-hop artist Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., a Chicago native who goes by the name Common, will be part of a poetry program Wednesday night. President Obama is expected to attend.The Daily Caller, a conservative news site launched by Tucker Carlson, has helped spearhead the controversy over the rapper. (And this marks the only time “Tucker Carlson” and “rapper” have ever appeared in the same sentence.) The site reprinted lyrics from one Common work, "A Letter to the Law" in which he says his "Uzi weighs a ton" and keying on the following passage:No time for that, because there’s things to be doneStay true to what I do so the youth dream comefrom project buildingSeeing a fiend being hungWith that happening, why they messing with Saddam?Burn a Bush cos’ for peace he no push no buttonKilling over oil and greaseno weapons of destructionHow can we follow a leader when this a corrupt oneThe government’s a g-unit and they might buck young black peopleBlack people in the urban area oneI hold up a peace sign, but I carry a gun.Sarah Palin jumped on the bandwagon, tweeting the Daily Caller story with a comment “Oh, lovely White House” — the virtual equivalent of rolling her eyes.Pajamas Media, another conservative site, says Common supports Mumia Abu Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, and was a member, along with the Obamas, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Rev. Jeremiah Wright served as pastor. The rapper defended Wright during the 2008 campaign as Obama distanced himself from the controversial minister. The video below shows Wright in the background as Common performs.A Fox News site called the multiple Grammy-winner a “vile rapper.” Common, who has also acted in several films, including "American Gangster" and "Terminator Salvation," also performed at a 2009 inaugural ball. (The latter creates one degree of separation from Arnold Schwarzenegger. The White House did not immediately comment. Common appeared to take the whole thing in stride, tweeting, “So apparently Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me.”Anyone remember Sister Souljah james.oliphant@latimes.comtwitter: @jamesoliphantHere's "A Letter to the Law"Here's Common performing with Jeremiah Wright in the background: ||||| A somber President Barak Obama collects his thoughts during his speech during, "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America," to honor the victim's of Saturday's mass shooting at McKale Center, on the University of Arizona campus. Photo by David Sanders, Arizona Daily Star 
 
 Remarks of President Obama — as prepared for delivery and released by the White House. When giving the actual speech, the president made slight revisions, and notably updated the section on visiting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the hospital, saying that a few minutes afterwards, “she opened her eyes for the first time”: 
 
 To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow. 
 
 There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through. 
 
 As Scripture tells us: 
 
 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 
 
 the holy place where the Most High dwells. 
 
 God is within her, she will not fall; 
 
 God will help her at break of day. 
 
 On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders – representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” – just an updated version of government of and by and for the people. 
 
 That is the quintessentially American scene that was shattered by a gunman’s bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday – they too represented what is best in America. 
 
 Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain twenty years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons, and his five grandchildren. 
 
 George and Dorothy Morris – “Dot” to her friends – were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away. 
 
 A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better. 
 
 Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together – about seventy years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers. 
 
 Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion – but his true passion was people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved – talking with people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year. 
 
 And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate. 
 
 Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken – and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness. 
 
 Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday. I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I can tell you this — she knows we’re here and she knows we love her and she knows that we will be rooting for her throughout what will be a difficult journey. 
 
 And our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful for Daniel Hernandez, a volunteer in Gabby’s office who ran through the chaos to minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her alive. We are grateful for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for a petite 61-year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition, undoubtedly saving some lives. And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and emergency medics who worked wonders to heal those who’d been hurt. 
 
 These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned — as it was on Saturday morning. 
 
 Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory? 
 
 You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations – to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems. Much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government. 
 
 But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized — at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do — it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds. 
 
 Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, “when I looked for light, then came darkness.” Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath. 
 
 For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind. 
 
 So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future. 
 
 But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together. 
 
 After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose someone in our family — especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day? 
 
 So sudden loss causes us to look backward — but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame — but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others. 
 
 That process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions — that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires. For those who were harmed, those who were killed — they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. We may not have known them personally, but we surely see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis — she’s our mom or grandma; Gabe our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. In Gabby, we see a reflection of our public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union. 
 
 And in Christina…in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic. 
 
 So deserving of our love. 
 
 And so deserving of our good example. If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle. 
 
 The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives — to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations. 
 
 I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. 
 
 That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted. 
 
 I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us — we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations. 
 
 Christina was given to us on September 11th , 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.” 
 
 If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit. 
 
 May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America. ||||| Micah Johnson’s journal opened a portal into a madman’s mind. 
 
 
 
 In handwritten scrawls and crude sketches, police learned about the 25-year-old’s gun lust, his fascination with shoot-and-scoot tactics, and increasing interest in black nationalism. 
 
 But his writing also showed something else, according to a Dallas Police Department officer with access to evidence in the investigation. 
 
 His words aren't an intricate manifesto. They were fleeting thoughts that bounced around inside a brain that never really grew up. 
 
 On Sunday, three days after he slaughtered five Dallas police officers and wounded nine others and two civilians in a rampage fueled by racism and rage, a more nuanced portrait of the killer began to take shape. 
 
 His journal included riffs about assault rifles, but they were interspersed with rap music lyrics. A dispassionate sentence about ways to inflict maximum carnage, might be followed by one with complexity and heart, about being both African and American during a time where those identities often seem to conflict. 
 
 “This guy might have been a loner,” said the officer, who requested anonymity because he isn’t authorized to speak publicly about the case. “But he was smart.” 
 
 Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Sunday morning on CNN's State of the Union an injured Johnson wrote the initials “R.B." on the walls of the downtown parking garage where he was barricaded last week. 
 
 Brown later ordered officers to use a remote-controlled robot armed with explosives to kill Johnson. 
 
 The investigation suggests Johnson had long prepared for the attack, according to the chief, but fast-tracked his plans after the march protesting the recent fatal police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota was announced. 
 
 Brown said police are "convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous" and was determined to "make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement's efforts to punish people of color." 
 
 But the police official close to the investigation who spoke to The News said Johnson’s written ramblings did not contain a direct threat or outline definite plans. 
 
 Johnson “was studying all these different disciplines and you can’t make heads or tails out of it,” he said. 
 
 Brown did not return recalls from several reporters from The News on Sunday. But he told CNN that police are still analyzing the Army veteran’s laptop and cell phone to figure out whether other people helped Johnson plan the ambush after a peaceful march through downtown Dallas. 
 
 Johnson was in JROTC at John Horn High School in Mesquite and enlisted in the Army reserve shortly after he graduated in 2009. He also enrolled for four classes at Richland College in the spring of 2011, but did not complete any of them, the school said. 
 
 He served in Afghanistan, but was discharged last year after being accused of sexual harassment, according to his attorney. 
 
 Those who knew Johnson in the Army say they don’t recognize the pathologically violent racist described in news accounts. 
 
 He openly spoke of his Christian faith in Afghanistan and often chose to socialize with white soldiers. 
 
 “It's not racism guys,” Heather Brooks wrote on Facebook. “Hate what he did, but don't hate the man ... it was mental sickness unchecked and untreated. He had good in him, we all know he did.” 
 
 Brooks, of Odessa, declined to comment when reached by phone. 
 
 ”If you didn’t hang around him then you wouldn’t understand him,” said a black soldier who served in the same unit with Johnson. “He wasn’t weird, he wasn’t off, he was goofy. He was almost like a class clown.” 
 
 But he said the military’s sexual harassment investigation curdled his friend’s good humor. 
 
 “He just wasn’t as talkative,” the soldier said of Johnson.”He lost his funny spirit.â‹"â‹ 
 
 He said it probably never occurred to Johnson that the cops he fired on included his brothers and sisters who had served in the military. 
 
 Other friends said Johnson showed little interest in conversations about racial injustice or the shooting of Trayvon Martin. 
 
 Soldiers wondered out loud whether the stress of serving in a combat zone got to their friend. Mortars exploded in the area four or five times a day. 
 
 Back in the states, a former co-worker said Johnson seemed “very affected” by officer-involved shootings of black men in recent years - something he told police before negotiations failed. 
 
 Dallas groups stemming from the Black Power movement acknowledged that Johnson had visited some of their meetings and events but said that he was never actively involved. 
 
 "He was a Black Power supporter. Talking to comrades in Dallas, that's what it seemed like," said the People's New Black Panther Party's national minister of information, identified only as Yahcanon. He said that Johnson was not on the "frontlines" of the movement but "whenever an event was put on by a Black organization, he did attend those." 
 
 Yahcanon was quick to distance the organization from Johnson. "Micah Johnson had nothing to do with our party whatsoever," he said. 
 
 
 
 During his standoff with police, Johnson told police he had been training for the deadly ambush. A neighboring family said he performed what looked like military training exercises in his yard. 
 
 
 
 Johnson took self defense classes at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in Richardson for six months to a year. 
 
 Justin Everman, who owns the business, said the classes only involved hand-to-hand defensive measures, nothing related to weapons training. 
 
 He said Johnson's round of classes ended more than a year ago. 
 
 Everman denounced the shootings, which he called atrocious. 
 
 "We are very depressed," he said. "It's just disgusting." 
 
 This story was written by Scott Farwell. It was reported by Farwell, Brittney Martin, Brandon Formby, Jennifer Emily, Brandi Grissom, Holly K. Hacker, Katie Leslie and Christine Schmidt. 
 
 On Twitter: 
 
 @byjenemily ||||| (CNN) The gunman who killed five police officers in Dallas was plotting larger attacks, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Sunday. 
 
 "We're convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous and believed that he was going to target law enforcement -- make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement's efforts to punish people of color," Brown said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." 
 
 Brown said police found bomb-making materials and a journal at the shooter's home that suggested he'd been practicing detonations and appeared ready to take aim at larger targets. 
 
 It was enough, Brown said, to have "devastating effects on our city." 
 
 He said the shooter, Micah Johnson, "obviously had some delusion. There was quite a bit of rambling in the journal that's hard to decipher." 
 
 Among Dallas investigators' current goals: Figure out what Johnson had meant by "RB," lettering that Brown said he'd written on the wall in blood before his death. 
 
 Police are "trying to figure out what those initials mean, but we haven't determined that yet," Brown said. 
 
 Blood on walls 
 
 "At the scene where he was killed, he wrote some lettering in blood on the walls, which leads us to believe he was wounded on the way up the stairwell, on the second floor of the El Centro building and where we detonated the device to end the standoff there was more lettering written in his own blood," he said. 
 
 The details made for significant new disclosures about the killings that have rocked the Dallas community and the nation. Brown also sought to deliver a message to protesters in states like Minnesota and Louisiana after people there were killed by police last week in what critics have called cases of excess force. 
 
 "We're sworn to protect you and your right to protest, and we'll give our lives for it," Brown said. 
 
 "And it's sort of like being in a relationship where you love that person, but that person can't express or show you love back," he said. "I don't know if you've been in a relationship like that before, Jake, but that's a tough relationship to be in, where we show our love -- because there's 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,'" Brown said. "That should be fairly easy." 
 
 Negotiating with the gunman 
 
 Brown said the gunman was only willing to negotiate with a black police officer during the standoff. 
 
 He was also singing while speaking with police officers, Brown said. 
 
 "We had negotiated with him for about two hours, and he just basically lied to us -- playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many (police officers) did he get and that he wanted to kill some more and that there were bombs there," Brown said, "so there was no progress on the negotiation." 
 
 "I began to feel that it was only at a split second he would charge us and take out many more before we could kill him," he said. 
 
 That, Brown said, is when his officers devised a plan to use a robot to detonate a bomb near the gunman. 
 
 The decision to use a bomb 
 
 Brown said he faced a difficult choice -- with no way to send officers after the gunman without further jeopardizing their lives. 
 
 "He was secreted behind a brick corner," he said, "and the only way to get a sniper shot to end his trying to kill us would be to expose officers to grave danger." 
 
 When his officers proposed using the robot, Brown said, "I approved it. And I'll do it again if presented with the same circumstances." 
 
 "You have to trust the people whose lives are at stake. I appreciate critics, but they're not on the ground, and their lives are not at risk," he said. 
 
 Brown also said police arrested 20 to 30 people who had been involved in protests in Dallas that night who were wearing gas masks and bullet-proof vests and had AR-15s slung across their shoulders. That's legal in Texas, he said, but once the shooting began, those people "were suspects." 
 
 He also encouraged Americans to "stand up" to support police officers. 
 
 "These officers risk their lives for $40,000 a year. $40,000 a year," he said. "And this is not sustainable, not to support these people. 
 
 "We're not perfect. There's cops that don't need to be cops. I have been the first to say, we need to separate employment with those types of cops -- 1% or 2%. The 98% or 99% of cops come to work, do this job, come to work for 40 grand. It's not sustainable."
– President Obama delivered a stirring call for unity at Tuesday's memorial service for five slain Dallas police officers, but the city's top cop's soulful tribute is the one getting the most attention. Dallas Police Chief David Brown recited lyrics from Stevie Wonder's "As," explaining that as a young man in the '70s, he used to recite song lyrics to get dates (and when it was love, he "had to dig down deep to get some Stevie Wonder to fully express the love I had")—and he wanted to show some of that love to the officers' families, the Miami Herald reports. "We all know sometimes life's hate and troubles can make you wish you were born in another time and place, but you can bet your lifetimes and twice as double that God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed," recited the chief, who was greeted with a long standing ovation when he rose to speak. "So make sure when you say you're in it, but not of it, you're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called hell. Change your words into truth and then change that truth into love," the chief continued. He recited several more lines before introducing Obama, who quipped: "Chief Brown, I'm so glad I met Michelle first because she loves Stevie Wonder," Mashable notes. In other coverage: The service at the Meyerson Symphony Center also included an extraordinary performance from gospel singer Gaye Arbuckle. The Dallas Morning News describes her rendition of "Total Praise" by Richard Smallwood as a "healing moment in a service that sought to heal, in whatever way it could." Obama delivered his remarks—which can be seen in full here—next to five chairs empty but for folded American flags as tributes to the fallen officers, ABC News reports. The White House says the president stayed up long into the night to write the speech himself, drawing on the Bible for inspiration. The New York Times reports that Obama's speech was, for the most part, welcomed by law enforcement officials, as was that of George W. Bush. "Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions,” Bush said to applause. "And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose."