US Attorney General starts forums in Detroit to address tragedies

DETROIT (WJBK) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is in Detroit Wednesday to launch the first in a series of forums designed to improve the relationship between the community and the police.

The relationship between Detroit police and the people they serve have improved drastically over recent years, part of the reason Lynch decided to launch the series in the Motor City.

"The recent tragedies over the last several weeks have really, I think, not just struck a chord in so many people but they have awakened a pain in so many people," she said at the forum with residents and law enforcement at Wayne State University in Detroit

The pain, she says, crosses all boundaries so now is the time for the conversation about how to rebuild trust.

"As painful as the discussion has been, and as painful as the images that we have seen of people losing their lives and the harm - both to community members and law enforcement - as painful as that is, it has allowed us to get a point where we now realize the depths of the issues and the depths of the grief," she said. "And I've seen people coming together in that grief; I've seen people united in finding a way to deal with the common pain we all feel when we are all harmed by violent forces wherever they come from and whoever of us they target."

She says now is the chance to listen and come up with solutions, and Detroit could be the place to start.

After this meeting, she attended a bridges meeting with the Arab American community. Lynch on Tuesday also participated in a National Night Out event with Detroit police. 

FOX 2's Amy Lange will have more on the Attorney General's visit tonight on FOX 2 News beginning at 5 p.m.