Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Our nation is facing yet another heartbreaking tragedy.  Each incident, from the death of Philando Castile in Minneapolis to the loss of five police officers in Dallas, from the fatality of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge to today’s killing of at least three law-enforcement officers in Louisiana’s capital, is an individual occasion for mourning and reflection.

Frederick Douglass, in his Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln in 1876, recognized that past injustice can easily serve as “the signal and excuse for opening upon us all the flood-gates of wrath and violence.”  Douglass noted that assembling “in peace today is a compliment and a credit to American civilization, and a prophecy of still greater national enlightenment and progress in the future.”

Let us resist the urge to resort to directionless rage and instead work together toward that greater national enlightenment and progress.

My heart goes out to the lives lost and to the living dealing with the aftermath of these tragic events.

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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Contact:

Peter Lavallee, Communications Director, (360) 586-0725; PeterL@atg.wa.gov

 

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