John Boehner: Relations between police and black communities a 'national crisis'
By Adam Edelman
"I think that if you look at what's happened over the course of the last year, you've just got to scratch your head," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday called the current state of relations between black communities and the police a "national crisis."
"I think that if you look at what's happened over the course of the last year, you've just got to scratch your head," the Ohio Republican acknowledged on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I do," Boehner responded, when asked whether the U.S. is "in a national crisis when it comes to the relationship between African Americans and law enforcement," in the aftermath of the Baltimore riots that erupted following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.
"Public servants should not violate the law," Boehner said about the police officers in Baltimore who have been charged in Gray's death.
Police advance toward protestors as a store burns, Monday, April 27, during unrest following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
"If these charges are true, it's outrageous and it's unacceptable," he said, adding that he would support using federal money to equip police departments across the country with body cameras.
"I think most departments around the country are moving toward body cameras," Boehner said.
"We have got a lot of police grants that we already have on the books that can be used for this. So, why not," he said, after being asked by "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd whether "the federal government should chip in to help with" funding.