Behind candles and lights dimmed to near darkness, their faces flashed across the screen. A bootleg CD salesman in Louisiana, a cafeteria worker in Minnesota, a 17-year-old in Sanford, Fla. Then the face of a police officer, and a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth.
It wasn’t necessary for the pastor of the Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas to identify the dead projected on a screen behind him. All the faces with light skin were police officers. All the faces with dark skin were citizens killed by the police.
On Sunday at 11 a.m., which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once called the most segregated hour in America, the black-majority congregation of Potter’s House took time to reflect on a wrenching week of race-related violence in America.
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“These are trying times in our nation, but we believe that God can do the impossible,” said associate pastor Onterio Green, pacing the vast stage at the front of the church. “Halle-lujah! Halle-lujah! Halle-lu-jah!”
Worshipers at the Potter’s House church in Dallas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )
The week had begun with the shooting deaths of two black men at the hands of police in suburban St. Paul, Minn., and Baton Rouge, La. Then on Thursday night, a Black Lives Matter march in Dallas ended in a few terrifying moments when a sniper disrupted the peaceful protest by shooting 14 people, 12 of them police officers.
Five officers were killed. Seven others and two civilians are expected to survive. In an instant, this city became the locus of the nation’s continuing conversation with itself on race, discrimination and justice.
“We are ground zero today,” said state Sen. Royce West.
West spoke from the stage on Sunday, joined by a dozen others, including family members of people killed by police, and police officers themselves, who pleaded for patience and understanding.
“I wasn’t born a robot,” said Dallas Police Department Cpl. Justin Brandt. “We are human.”
Brandt, dressed in full uniform, said he has to travel the country to find acceptable recruits for the police department, and said he wished qualified applicants from Dallas would consider joining.
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“I can get you all a job tomorrow,” he told the congregation, to laughter.
Sometimes, the reception in church to the police was icy. After all, the protest on Thursday was meant to bring attention to incidents of police brutality, and some of the marchers were in the pews on Sunday.
When Brandt suggested that the solution to racial tension was giving the police more resources, including money for training, the room was silent.
This city has not been touched by the kind of slow-boiling violence that rent Ferguson, Mo., and erupted last week in Baton Rouge between protesters and officers in riot gear. But some protesters, including James Ali-El, 36, found the presentation in church to be more show than substantive dialogue.
“They’re missing the whole point of what’s really going on,” said Ali-El, who said members of his family are current and former members of the Los Angeles Police Department. “It’s camouflage [to] shut down the black community by coming out here and saying, ‘We have to have sympathy for the police officers.’
“Of course we have sympathy for the officers. But it’s convenient. Now they want restraint, now that it’s them [who are] hurt.”
Mayor Mike Rawlings, who has sought to make inroads with Dallas’ black community, sat in a front-row pew and spoke briefly of fighting “the battles of tomorrow instead of the battles of yesterday.”
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Frustration with the police sometimes boiled over during the on-stage dialogue. Potter’s House Pastor T.D. Jakes, who held a microphone and asked questions of the assembled group on stage, complained that police officers never truly face justice.
“They’re always exonerated,” Jakes said.
Jakes then introduced a series of people whose loved ones were killed by police. Saundra Sterling said her nephew Alton was like a son to her, and she had worried about his decision to return to selling bootleg CDs in Baton Rouge. He was killed Tuesday by police.
“He suffered, he suffered,” Sterling said.
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Magnus, the 8-year-old son of slain Dallas Police Officer Lorne Ahrens, rides with his father’s coffin during the funeral Wednesday afternoon. Sr. Cpl. Ahrens and four other officers were killed in an attack during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 7.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Pallbearers carry the casket of Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas on Wednesday afternoon.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Magnus, the 8-year-old son of slain Dallas Police Officer Lorne Ahrens, speaks to officers after his father’s funeral Wednesday. Sr. Cpl. Ahrens was buried at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Funeral services are held for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )
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People line up outside the funeral service for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Vice President Joe Biden, left, Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush join President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the memorial service in Dallas for five slain policemen.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas Police Chief David Brown, center, listens as President Obama speaks at the memorial service.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Police officers from across the country and civilians attend a visitation for slain Police Sgt. Michael Smith at Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch, Texas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A crowd gathers before the memorial at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, where President Obama and former President George W. Bush spoke.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Police officers take part in the “Dallas Strong” candlelight vigil at City Hall on July 11, 2016, in honor of the five Dallas police officers killed last week.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Police officers at the vigil.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Kristy Zamarripa, daughter of slain Dallas Police Officer Patricio Zamarripa, is held by her grandmother in front of a photo of the officer at the vigil.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman wipes her tears in a section of seats reserved for family members of the slain police officers.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas Police Officer Victor Guzman, who was at the sniper shooting scene, holds a candle. His wife, Ciprina, is in front of him.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Family and friends of fallen police officers take part in the vigil.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Officer Marc Macklemore tries to remain composed during a memorial for the slain officers at the vigil.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Heidi Smith, center, wife of slain Dallas Police Officer Sgt. Michael Smith, is comforted by her dauther Victoria, left, as they take part in a candlelight vigil at City Hall on Monday.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Rick Zamarripa, father of slain Officer Patrick Zamarripa, attends the vigil.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Five portraits of the officers killed last week are displayed at the vigil.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Honor guards put up the portraits.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Community members hold hands in prayer at a Dallas church on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Porsha Jackson, right, speaks during a community meeting at a Dallas church on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Prayers continue to be said July 10 as the memorial in front of Dallas police headquarters continues to grow.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas police officers wipe tears following a prayer July 10.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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People pray July 10 at Dallas police headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Black Lives Matter activists hold hands at a protest July 10 in Dallas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Black Lives Matter demonstrators share a group hug with All Lives Matter activists July 10 in Dallas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Samuel Barnes, left, who was dispatched with emergency medical services after the Dallas attack, watches a Black Lives Matter demonstration July 10.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Ella Fest, 3, looks at a makeshift memorial in downtown Dallas on Sunday.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A wounded Shetamia Taylor, center, tears up as she recalls the Dallas police officers who saved her after she was wounded during a sniper attack Thursday night in which five officers were killed. At the news conference at a Dallas hospital, Taylor is surrounded by her sister, Teresa Williams, her husband, Lavar Taylor, and her children behind her.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Shetamia Taylor, right, who is recovering after being shot, hugs Angie Wisner, who helped save her son during the deadly attack when a gunman killed five police officers and wounded other officers and civilians in Dallas during a peaceful protest.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Worshippers come together for a service and town hall meeting at the Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas on Sunday, days after five officers were killed by a sniper during a peacerful Black Lives Matter protest. Bishop T.D. Jakes told the mostly black congregation of the city’s police officers: “When wickedness raised its head, they stood up for our protection.”
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Saundra Sterling, an aunt who raised Alton Sterling after his mother died, is welcomed by worshippers at the Potter’s House church in Dallas. Alton Sterling was shot to death by police in Baton Rouge, La., last week.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Elizabeth Holmes, 87, gives out hugs during a service at the Potter’s House church in Dallas, days after five law enforcement officers were killed by a sniper.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Father Stephen Jasso greets Rick Zamarripa, father of slain police officer Patrick Zamarripa, during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A picture frame with two portraits of slain police Officer Patrick Zamarripa sits on the pew as family members stand to pray during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church, in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Rick Zamarripa, father of slain police Officer Patrick Zamarripa, weeps during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas residents add to the memorial for the slain police officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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People give hugs to Dallas police officers standing outside the memorial for slain officers in the recent attacks in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Tasha Lomoglio sits alone as she visits the memorial for slain police officers outside Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A memorial for the slain Dallas police officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Community members pay their respects at the memorial for the slain officers in the recent attacks in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Police officer M. Argumedo shares encouraging words with Brielle Delgado, 8, at the memorial for slain police officers in Dallas, Texas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Tasha Lomoglio, of Dallas, pays her respects in front of a growing memorial at the Dallas police headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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DART Police officers pray in front of the Dallas police headquarters on Saturday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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DART Police officers pray in front of the Dallas police headquarters on Saturday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman weeps at a memorial outside the crime scene where 5 police officers were killed and 7 more wounded, in Dallas, Texas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Officers are deployed around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Officers secure the scene around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Police locked down the area around the Dallas headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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People wait for lock down to be lifter around Dallas police headquarters after an unspecified threat was made.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas police officers check out an unspecified threat around the headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners grieve in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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The MVPz, a Central Texas, Softball Team, pray in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, gets a hug at the Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Seven-year-old Jacob Flanagan greets Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, with his Mom, Jennifer Cobb, in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Djuana Franklin is consoled by a passerby as she weeps at the memorial for slain police officers in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Investigators walk in a formation on Lamar Street to comb through the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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People pray in front of a growing memorial at the Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Homeland Security Agent, Ron Miller, of San Antonio, works with his bomb sniffing dog, Mattie, along the Earle Cabel Federal Building in downtown Dallas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Rachel Simon embraces her daughter Abigail Simon, 13, as they pay their respects to the slain officers at a memorial outside Dallas Police Department.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Retired Army Sgt. Chandler Davis, pays his respects at the growing memorial in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Investigators comb through the crime scene for evidence outside El Centro College on Lamar Street in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flowers, handwritten notes, balloons, candles and other mementos are left on squad cars parked at the Dallas Police Department in a memorial to the slain officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Djuana Franklin weeps for the slain police officers at a memorial at the Dallas police headquarters.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flowers, cards, balloons, candles and other mementos form a makeshift memorial at the Dallas Police Department.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A large American flag flies at half mast framed by the Dallas skyline in the aftermath of the deadly police shooting.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Roses are placed on a makeshift memorial near the shooting scene.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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From top left counter clockwise, Fermin Betancourt, Damien Betancourt, 10, Destiny Betancourt, 11, and Police Officer Yuridia Morales pay their respects at the memorial for slain Dallas officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Police Officer Katherine Rhodes, right, embraces Officer Yuridia Morales at a memorial for the shooting victims.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flowers, notes, balloons and other mementos are left on squad cars outside Dallas Police headquarters in honor of the slain police officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Shelby Garcia, 16, sticks a hand-written note onto the squad cars meant to memorialize the slain Dallas police officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Kenneth Parsons leans on Veronica Jones as they pay their respects at a memorial for the fallen police officers in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Shelby Garcia, 16, writes a note for the slain Dallas police officers.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Hand-written personal notes are left to honor the fallen police officers in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas residents join in a “United to Heal” prayer vigil at the Cathedral Guadalupe the day after the sniper attack that left five officers dead.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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An officer wipes a tear as fellow officers adjust flowers left on a police cruiser in front of police headquarters in Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Daniel Bray embraces Emilie Bedell during an interfaith prayer event in Dallas for the victims of the mass shooting that killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Concord Church in Dallas hosts a gathering after the sniper attack on police by Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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DALLAS, TX July 8, 2016 Neftali Davila, of Sallas, prays as her husband Mayte holds their newborn, Mateo, as worshipper attend “A United To Heal Prayer Vigil” at the Cathedral Guadalupe July 8, 2016 following a sniper attack by 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. that left 5 officers dead. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times) (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Stacy Powell, center, prays with others at the Concord Church in Dallas following the police shooting.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Texas Highway Patrol officers help out in downtown Dallas as investigators look for evidence from the sniper attack on police the night before.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Eleina Martinez, 5, touches Dallas Police Officer Arnie Pargas’ badge, draped with a black band, at a memorial outside police headquarters.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Community members pray during an interfaith prayer event for the victims of the mass shooting in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Tani Taylor claps for police officers during an interfaith prayer event for the victims of the mass shooting that killed five officers in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Izzy May sobs during an interfaith prayer service for the victims of the police shooting in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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During a news conference Friday, Dallas Police Chief David Brown collects himself while talking about Thursday night’s deadly shooting.
(Mark Mulligan / Associated Press)
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Noelle Hendrix places flowers near the scene of the shooting in downtown Dallas.
(LM Otero / Associated Press)
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Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College, where a sniper killed five police officers and wounding 7 others in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Investigators examine the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas, where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing at least five police officers and wounding seven others during a protest over recent police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas, where a sniper shot 12 police officers, killing five of them.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Dallas police officers stand guard at a roadblock to the crime scene at El Centro College in Dallas.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Investigators search the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing five police officers and wounding seven others.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A Dallas police officer, who did not want to be identified, takes a moment as she guards an intersection after the deadly shooting.
(LM Otero / Associated Press)
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Dallas police officers gather downtown after the deadly shooting.
(Ralph Lauer / EPA)
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Dallas police officers face protesters on the corner of Ross Avenue and Griffin Street after the shooting.
(Ralph Lauer / EPA)
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Police officers stand guard at a barracade following the sniper shooting in Dallas.
Earlier in the day, people rally in Dallas to protest the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively.
(Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images)
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Marchers in Dallas.
(Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images)
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A man lies on the ground after yelling, “Don’t shoot me,” at police during the rally.
(Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images)
Diamond Reynolds watched her boyfriend, Philando Castile, die after he was shot several times by St. Anthony, Minn., Officer Jeronimo Yanez on Wednesday.
“The officer was scared, I heard it in his voice,” said Reynolds, who live-streamed Castile’s final moments on Facebook and spoke at the service on a phone line connected to church speakers. “It clicked to me. This is much bigger than myself.”
Jakes asked her what she wonders about when she thinks about that day.
“If I could change anything, it was never to take that route,” Reynolds said, her voice breaking. “None of this would have happened.”
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Finally on stage was Dallas County Sheriff’s Lt. Steven Gentry, who has had a troubled history with his own department. He was fired for filming female inmates in the shower, but reinstated due to a technicality.
Gentry said he was abandoned at a police station by his birth mother and brought home by a sympathetic police officer, whom he regards as his father. On Thursday, he saw one of his friends and fellow police officers die in front of him.
“Whether you like police or you don’t, whether you’ve had bad interactions with us,” Gentry said, “we’re not over you, we’re with you.”
Jakes, the pastor, clutched Gentry to him.
“I’m holding Steve and he’s trembling right now,” Jakes said.
He turned to Gentry.
“You look alive,” Jakes said.
Gentry collapsed onto the pastor’s shoulder, tucked his head into Jakes’ lapel and wept.
Nigel Duara covered the border for the Los Angeles Times, based in Tucson, until 2017. A Miami native, Duara was previously a reporter for the Associated Press in Portland, Ore. He is also a veteran of the American Middle West, with stints in Iowa City and Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism.
