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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Deaths of officers, black men pain Spokane NAACP leader

Spokane NAACP president Phil Tyler posted a video Wednesday in response to the officer-involved shooting Tuesday in Louisiana. On Thursday, Tyler expressed pain and anger again at the deaths of police officers during a protest in Dallas. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
Spokane NAACP president Phil Tyler posted a video Wednesday in response to the officer-involved shooting Tuesday in Louisiana. On Thursday, Tyler expressed pain and anger again at the deaths of police officers during a protest in Dallas. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

On Wednesday, Phillip Tyler posted a video expressing his pain and anger at the shooting of a black man by law enforcement in Baton Rouge.

On Thursday, Tyler, the president of Spokane’s NAACP chapter, was expressing pain and anger again at the deaths of police officers in Dallas during a protest of the recent police-related shootings of two black men.

A former Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy and military law enforcement specialist, Tyler said he’s seen “both sides of the picture.”

“Why did these people have to die, both in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and the officers shot. Why? We as a nation have to come together and do a better job to have this public discourse and find a solution,” Tyler said Thursday night.

Tyler said he finds it especially disturbing that the Dallas police officers were killed working at an event allowing citizens to exercise their rights as U.S. citizens.

“They represent the worst of our society that would take advantage of those who were actively engaged in allowing freedom of speech and freedom of assembly,” he said.

“I’m sorry for the officers whose lives were tragically taken,” he said, echoing the words of a video posted Wednesday/Rachel Alexander, SR. More here (subscription required).



D.F. Oliveria

D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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