Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Biden, after meeting with families of officers killed in NC, says the nation is grieving with them

News

Biden, after meeting with families of officers killed in NC, says the nation is grieving with them
News

News

Biden, after meeting with families of officers killed in NC, says the nation is grieving with them

2024-05-03 08:04 Last Updated At:08:11

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday he was praying for loved ones and all those left behind after he met privately with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. The visit came just a week after he sat down with the grieving relatives of two cops killed in upstate New York.

“The entire nation is grieving with these families," he said from his second stop of the day in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was announcing new measures to cut lead pipes from the water supply.

More Images
President Joe Biden waves as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday he was praying for loved ones and all those left behind after he met privately with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. The visit came just a week after he sat down with the grieving relatives of two cops killed in upstate New York.

President Joe Biden is greeted by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, left, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden is greeted by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, left, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, right, speaks with Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Vi Lyles, bottom center, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, top center, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, right, speaks with Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Vi Lyles, bottom center, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, top center, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis, center, speaks with President Joe Biden, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis, center, speaks with President Joe Biden, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden greets Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden greets Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden waves as he walks to board Air Force One, Thursday, May 2, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is going to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden waves as he walks to board Air Force One, Thursday, May 2, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is going to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the CHIPS and Science Act at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Syracuse, N.Y. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits Wednesday, May 1, challenging a new Biden administration rule requiring firearms dealers across the United States to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the CHIPS and Science Act at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Syracuse, N.Y. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits Wednesday, May 1, challenging a new Biden administration rule requiring firearms dealers across the United States to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Biden detoured to Charlotte for the visit that took place with little fanfare behind closed doors, as the White House wanted Biden to be seen as respecting the privacy of grieving families and avoiding the appearance of using their grief for political purposes. He also met with officers wounded during the shooting, and wished them a fast recovery.

The president took a short motorcade across the airport to the North Carolina Air National Guard base to meet the group, which included elected officials. The location was an alternative to traveling into the city and was chosen as the least taxing one for local law enforcement officers who are still reeling from the deaths but who would have a hand in securing the president's trip.

“The men and women of law enforcement, you represent the best of us,” he said from the podium at the second stop.

Once again, Biden was seeking to be an empathetic leader for a community reeling from gun violence, while also calling for stricter rules around firearms and more money for law enforcement on the front lines.

Four officers were killed this week in North Carolina, when a wanted man opened fire on a joint agency task force that had come to arrest him on a warrant for possession of a firearm as an ex-felon, and fleeing to elude capture. They were: Sam Poloche and William Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Eyer; and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks.

Four other officers were wounded in the gunfire; the suspect was killed. An AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 40-caliber handgun and ammunition were found at the scene.

An AR-15 is among the weapons most often used in mass shootings, and it's the type of gun Biden is talking about when he says the U.S. should ban “ assault weapons.” Congress passed the most comprehensive gun control legislation in decades in 2022, after a horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But it didn't go far enough, Biden often says.

And as he campaigns for the 2024 election, Biden has made curbing gun violence a major campaign platform, elusive to Democrats even during the Obama era, as he fends off attacks from Republican challenger Donald Trump that he is soft on crime and anti-police.

“We have to get them the resources they need to do their job,” Biden said of law enforcement. “And keep the weapons of war" out of the wrong hands.

The violence came just about two weeks after another fatal shooting of law enforcement officers in Syracuse, New York; Lieutenant Michael Hoosock and Officer Michael Jensen were killed while looking for a driver who fled a traffic stop. After his speech, Biden met relatives of both of the officers’ families.

Biden had already been scheduled to come to Syracuse to celebrate Micron Technology’s plans to build a campus of computer chip factories, but the local police union said officers were still coming to terms with the deaths and weren’t happy with the president’s trip and had hoped he would delay.

On Thursday from Wilmington, Biden announced his administration was providing states with an additional $3 billion to replace lead pipes across the country, building on $5.8 billion for water infrastructure projects around the country announced in February.

“There’s no safe level of lead exposure," he said. “None. The only way forward is to replace every lead service line that connects clean water.”

Money for the pipe replacement comes from one of the administration’s key legislative victories, the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed in 2021. The infrastructure law includes over $50 billion to upgrade America’s water infrastructure.

The new round of funding will help pay for projects nationwide as Biden seeks to replace all lead pipes in the country.

“We’re going to get it done,” he said.

EPA estimates that North Carolina has 370,000 lead pipes, and $76 million will go to replace them statewide. Biden also will meet with faculty and students at a Wilmington school that replaced a water fountain with high levels of lead with money from the law.

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Matthew Daly and Josh Boak contributed to this story.

President Joe Biden waves as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden waves as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden is greeted by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, left, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden is greeted by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, left, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, right, speaks with Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Vi Lyles, bottom center, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, top center, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, right, speaks with Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Vi Lyles, bottom center, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, top center, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden met with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis, center, speaks with President Joe Biden, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis, center, speaks with President Joe Biden, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden greets Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden greets Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden waves as he walks to board Air Force One, Thursday, May 2, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is going to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden waves as he walks to board Air Force One, Thursday, May 2, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is going to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Biden is meeting with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the CHIPS and Science Act at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Syracuse, N.Y. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits Wednesday, May 1, challenging a new Biden administration rule requiring firearms dealers across the United States to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the CHIPS and Science Act at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Syracuse, N.Y. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits Wednesday, May 1, challenging a new Biden administration rule requiring firearms dealers across the United States to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Next Article

De La Cruz goes 4 for 4 with career-high 4 steals in Reds' 7-2 win over Dodgers

2024-05-17 13:17 Last Updated At:13:31

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elly De La Cruz went 4 for 4 with a career-best four stolen bases and scored three times in the Cincinnati Reds’ 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

Nick Martinez (1-2) won in relief, permitting one hit over five shutout innings and striking out four for the Reds, who used seven pitchers in a bullpen game.

Cincinnati snapped the Dodgers' franchise record of 22 straight games allowing four runs or fewer.

Los Angeles lost back-to-back games for the first time since April 19-20 and has dropped four of seven overall.

Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 2 with a walk and a strikeout on his first bobblehead night of the season, when fans snarled traffic and waited in long lines to snag the giveaway depicting the Japanese superstar. Only 40,000 fans got a bobblehead among the sellout crowd of 53,527 — the biggest in the majors this season and at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019.

De La Cruz matched his career high for hits and reached base five times with three singles, a double and a walk. His four steals were the most by a player against the Dodgers since Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth had that many on May 12, 2009.

The speedy De La Cruz finally got thrown out by catcher Austin Barnes trying to swipe second base to end the seventh. The 22-year-old shortstop has 30 steals this season. Conner Capel had the Reds' other stolen base in the game.

Will Benson hit a leadoff homer against Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow (6-2). Tyler Stephenson drove in two runs, including a two-out RBI single in the third that made it 3-0.

The Reds tacked on three more in the ninth for a 7-0 lead.

The Dodgers managed just two hits until the ninth, when Andy Pages singled while pinch-hitting for Ohtani. They loaded the bases and scored two runs on Gavin Lux's bases-loaded single.

Los Angeles went down in order in four straight innings. Three of those came against Martinez, including the sixth when he retired Mookie Betts, Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Frankie Montas (2-3, 4.20 ERA) starts Friday night against Dodgers LHP James Paxton (5-0, 2.58), who has a three-game winning streak.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) catches a foul ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Kikè Hernández during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) catches a foul ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Kikè Hernández during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) throws to first during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández was safe at first. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario (3) throws to first during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández was safe at first. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) swings a strike during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) swings a strike during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Tyler Stephenson reacts after a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Elly De La Cruz scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Tyler Stephenson reacts after a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Elly De La Cruz scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after swinging a strike during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after swinging a strike during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz adjusts his helmet after stealing second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz adjusts his helmet after stealing second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz reacts after scoring off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz reacts after scoring off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz scores off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz scores off of a wild pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Recommended Articles