Obama honors fallen Dallas police officers at memorial

President Barack Obama is expected to arrive at Love Field Tuesday morning to attend a memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, where he will honor the police officers gunned down by an angry sniper last week.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and police Chief Joel Fitzgerald are among those who are scheduled to meet Obama after Air Force lands.

The memorial is for the families of the five officers killed during Thursday night’s ambush and other officers and is not open to the public.

Officers began filling Myerson shortly after 11 a.m.

The fallen officers include: Dallas police officers Patrick Zamarripa, a Fort Worth Paschal High School graduate and father who survived three tours in Iraq; ; Senior Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, of Burleson and father of two; Sgt. Michael Smith, of Carrollton and father of two; and Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson of Corsicana, a father, grandfather and newlywed; and Michael Krol, a Michigan native.

Besides Obama, those speaking will include Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, former President Geoge W. Bush and Dallas police Chief David Brown.

The memorial is scheduled to begin at 12:40 p.m. and will be broadcast online. A large screen will be set up at nearby Clyde Warren Park for onlookers to watch the service.

Michael Gaffney, vice president of operations at Kylde Warren Park, said they are prepared for between 5,000 and 7,000 people to show up for the live stream of the memorial. Food trucks line the streets around the park.

Gaffney thinks it’s great that Obama is speaking.

“Anything that can help Dallas, I'm all for,” Gaffney said. “Dallas needs to heal right now.”

The president already has reached out to Dallas leaders, praising their leadership during this tragic time and asking them “to convey to all the officers and their families how the American people are grieving with them and that we stand with them.”

He has said he believes that “America is not as divided as some have suggested.”

“Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it’s in Dallas or anyplace else,” said Obama, who was invited to the memorial service by Rawlings.

“So there is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps. But there’s unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans. And that serves as the basis for us being able to move forward in a constructive and positive way.”

First lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and former first lady Laura Bush are among those also planning to attend the memorial service that is open to families of the fallen officers and “members of the Dallas community whose unity is reflective of who we are as Americans.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who underwent skin grafts Tuesday to repair damage to both of his feet after being burned last week by scalding water, did not attend the memorial but was represented by his wife, Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott.

After the ceremony, Obama will “meet privately with the families of the fallen police officers and those who were injured to personally express the nation’s support and gratitude for their service and sacrifice,” according to a White House statement.

Bush, who lives in Dallas, has said he and Laura were “heartbroken by the heinous acts of violence.”

“Laura and I have seen firsthand the dedication, professionalism, and courage of the Dallas Police Department,” he said in a statement. “Their commitment to safety and justice makes us proud to call Dallas home.

“Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen. We pray for the wounded officers to recover fully and quickly,” he said. “And we join our fellow citizens in saluting the fine law enforcement officers in Dallas and across the country who put their own lives on the line to keep all lives safe.”

Obama, who ordered flags at all public buildings to be flown at half-staff until sunset today, cut short a European trip for his last NATO summit after learning about the ambush.

Police ambush

Last Thursday, as a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality began to wrap up, a gunman ambushed the crowd, shooting at police officers, killing four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer and injuring seven more.

Sniper Micah Johnson, 25, a troubled Army veteran and loner from Mesquite, attacked officers from the El Centro Community College building where he exchanged gunfire with police.

After hours of intense negotiations — Brown said Johnson sang and laughed as he spewed hatred about white people, “especially police officers” — authorities deployed a robot armed with C-4 explosive to take out Johnson in a college hallway, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Texans Democrats said they hope the president can help heartbroken North Texans.

“We are (a) nation in need of healing, and at times like this, our nation looks up to our president to be Healer-in-Chief,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. “Now is the time for transcendent leadership.”

On Monday, Obama and Biden met with law enforcers at the White House, discussing ways to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they represent.

“They also talked about ways to support officer training in safely de-escalating confrontations and systems to ensure the safety and wellness of those who protect all of us,” according to a White House statement. “The President recognized the importance of their continued partnership and emphasized his commitment to finding solutions to enhance public safety and reduce tensions between officers and the communities they serve.”

Obama has asked the nation to pray for the officers who lost their lives — and their families.

“They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving,” he said last week. “Police across America, which is a tight-knit family, feels this loss to their core and we’re grieving with them.

“As a nation, let’s remember to express our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue.”

Staff writers Azia Branson and Mitch Mitchell contributed this report, which contains information from Star-Telegram archives.

Anna Tinsley: 817-390-7610, @annatinsley

Deanna Boyd: 817-390-7655, @deannaboyd

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 7:23 AM with the headline "Obama honors fallen Dallas police officers at memorial."