Barack Obama pays tribute to slain Dallas police officers

President Barack Obama has told a memorial service that the shootings of five Dallas police officers would appear to have exposed “the deepest fault line of our democracy” but that Americans must reject such despair.

He said the nation is not as divided as it seems and called on Americans to search for common ground in support of racial equity and justice.

Mr Obama acknowledged Americans are unsettled by another mass shooting on their streets and are seeking answers to the violence that has sparked protests in cities and highlighted the nation’s persistent racial divide.

Five Dallas officers were shot dead last Thursday while standing guard as hundreds of people protested the police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier in the week.

“It’s hard not to think sometimes that the centre might not hold, that things might get worse,” Mr Obama said. “We must reject such despair.”

He joined politicians, police officers and families of the fallen at the service.

“The soul of our city was pierced,” Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings said, as he welcomed Mr Obama to the memorial service.

The group had assembled to combat “a common disease” of violence and honour those who fight it, “our men and women in blue, our peacemakers in blue”.

Mr Rawlings spoke steps from five empty chairs and five portraits of the dead officers.

A call for national and solidarity was reinforced by several speakers at the interfaith service, including former president George W Bush, a Dallas resident, who attended with his wife, Laura.

“At times it feels like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together,” Mr Bush said.

“Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions. And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose,” he said.

Mr Bush called on Americans to reject the unity of grief and fear.

“We want the unity of hope, affection and higher purpose,” he said.

Mr Obama has denounced the shooting as a “vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement” by a “demented” individual. And he has argued that, despite the heated public outcry of the past week, the country is not as divided as it may seem.

Mr Obama’s choice of travelling companions underscored the theme. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California joined Mr Obama on Air Force One for the flight to Dallas.

Republican senator John Cornyn, attended and spoke at the service but did not travel with the president.

He described the attack as deeply personal.

“Being a Texan doesn’t describe where you’re from it, describe who your family is,” the senator said.

The White House said the president worked late into the night writing his speech and consulting scripture for inspiration.