President Obama spoke by phone late Monday with New Jersey police officers wounded in a gun battle with a terrorism suspect, and with the off-duty Minnesota officer who shot and killed another suspected terrorist.
Mr. Obama told reporters that he spoke with two officers who helped to capture Ahmad Khan Rahami in Linden, New Jersey. He is suspected of detonating a bomb in New York City Saturday that injured 29 people.
“They were in good spirits,” Mr. Obama said of the officers. “I communicated to them how appreciative the American people were.”
The president also spoke with Jason Falconer, the off-duty officer who killed 22-year-old Dahir Adan after the suspect stabbed nine people at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota stabbings. Mr. Obama said the officer “undoubtedly saved a lot of lives.”
“I told him that, once again, the American people were appreciative of his work and his heroism,” the president said.
Mr. Obama has been criticized by law-enforcement leaders for not supporting police enough during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.