HARTFORD - On Saturday in Hartford, community leaders, along with state lawmakers, joined together to address law enforcement violence.
The event was the first in a three-part series of statewide gatherings that allow the community to interact with police officers and their elected representatives.
The event took place at the Victory Cathedral on Bellevue Street and was led by Senior Pastor James Bishop.
Participants looked at approaches to community reconciliation and building community and it comes as police-involved shootings in Minnesota and Baton Rouge have taken center stage.
After sitting in silence, some white Americans said they're being spurred to action by the fatal shootings of black men.
Robert Milesnick, an Oregon lawyer, said he's supporting local political candidates who promise to address racial profiling in policing.
In a Cleveland suburb, Lisa Vahey said she and her friends will push for better racial integration at their children's high school.
Civil rights and religious leaders acknowledged that the deadly retaliation attacks on police officers in Dallas and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have complicated matters.
Michael Curry, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, said only when a critical mass overcomes the so-called "white silence" around the killings will things change.
