i want to bring in now sheriff paul, lawrence jones is back with us.riff, let me go to you first. very difficult time for the law enforcement community being pushed on all sides. we've heard about the ferguson effect where. >> yes. >> you guys are intimidated to do your job. and yet the public needs you. >> that's the situation we're faced with across america. and what chief brown expressed i just want to say to him, and i know i can speak for so many americans, we love and support the dallas police. he's done a great job. they do a great job each and every day. evidence -- and their dramatic drop in all indicators of crime. it's a safer community, and we just want to send them not just our love, our prayers and support at this time. certainly law enforcement has a tougher job. it's made more difficult. there's a high standard, and we get that, and we should be held to that high standard. but this few officers who make mistakes, that's what's beautiful about our republic, we hold them accountable. and if there's charges, or if they of an to be fired, i

the parents and stepmother of micah johnson sad down with "the blaze's" lawrence jones and lawrence joins me now. i'm happy you can join us. >> thanks, don. >> i understand micah johnson's family reached out to you. why did they reach out to you? what did they say? why did they want to do an interview is. >> i was actually on you guys' -- the program on friday and i was talking about a balance between police brutality as well as the relationship issue with the black community and the police as well as loving and coming together and healing. and his mom said that she just felt like i was a christian man and i was fair. and she was sitting there in her house and said, you know what, i would allow that man to interview me because you got to imagine the press is surrounding her house. from there, the person that she talked to knew my mom on facebook and contacted my mom and then, of course, it went from there. >> she wanted to do an interview. many times, it's often personal. you know, you get to do these interviews, personal, you're fair and i think that's great. was there anything that they

joined now by radio host and conservative commentator lawrence jones. mr. with us. >> thanks so much for having me. >> let's talk about it. obviously, given the context of what happened, the fatal police-involved shootings of two african-american men in the state of louisiana, in minnesota, sparking these protests, first of all, what are your thoughts about the protests and the way they are being received given everything that's happened? >> i've been mourning all week because with those shootings themselves i had some pause and then with the officers' shooting there was some pause as well. so i think this should be a time where we come together. now, the protest itself, it was largely peaceful. you had one nut decided to, you know, have actions toward the police that ultimately killed five cops and injured six. but i don't think that was the protest at large. i think there is a real conversation that has to happen in america as it relates to the black community and policing in america. there is some distrust, and there is some disconnect, and sometimes the

of the popular robin hood project and conservative commentator and blaze radio network host, lawrence jonesnce, i have you -- okay. lawrence, let me start with you. you heard president obama's message yesterday. i want to play a little more of it right to you. >> we also know what chief brown has said is true. that so much of the tensions between police departments and minority communities that they serve is because we ask the police to do too much and we ask too little of ourselves. [ applause ] >> lawrence, you're there in dallas. i'm curious, how is that message being received today? >> for me, i think that the message was way too political. i don't think it was the time to go to memorial service of five fallen officers and talk about a political agenda, even though i do believe that we have a ways to go as it relates to the community and community policing as it relates to the black community. i think it is a difficult issue to discuss. i believe that community policing is going to be a step that we can take to get there. but i just didn't think that the memorial service was the place t

the johnsons spoke to lawrence jones of the blaze. what an emotional interview.o share a bit more of it, his mother now, speaking on what they went through. >> i didn't see it coming. >> he was a good son. he was a good son. >> i love my son with all my heart. i hate what he did. >> they love him with all their heart. he was a good son. talk to us about sitting down with the johnsons. you met with them at 5:00 p.m. on sunday, just three and a half hours of their son's memorial service. were they in a shock and devastation? >> reporter: yeah, they were devastated. having them reach out to me was a little tough. going through with them this timeline and what they went through -- and they were god fearing people, it was quite tough. >> and you had to also ask them how it all came to be. his mother lived with him. how did she not realize he had all of the weapons under the same roof? >> reporter: they knew he had weapons because he served in the military and he liked to build things. having gun powder and things like that wasn't that strange for him because he has be

. >> joining us now from dallas, lawrence jones, a man who interviewed johnson's parents."the blaze." tell me about the family. we will start with the father. he seems like a regular american guy. he doesn't seem like anybody different from any of the rest of us. >> yeah, bill. the family was a regular family. they were god-fearing people. believed in god. a mixed family amongst different races. his stepmother was white. his mom was black and his dad was black, of course. and they just talked about how much they loved their son and how that this one day shouldn't define their son's legacy. >> of course it will. the army and he was in the army for a while, served in afghanistan. they said he was a troubled guy. i mean, we have gotten reports now. but the family didn't see him that way, correct? >> that's not true. the family didn't say he wasn't troubled. they did say that when he went to the military he was about patriotism and the constitution and he was let down in the military some way, some form or fashion. and he changed when he left the military. he became a loner. a

i want to turn now to lawrence jones, a conservative commentator and radio host on the blaze and solomon, a radio host in philadelphia and a columnist for the philadelphia daily news. lawrence, you were in dallas last night. you saw an officer get shot. what happened? >> well, i got there, don, right after the officers had been shot. and you know, it was just crazy seeing my hometown dallas in such a disarray. but i want to make sure that it's noted that even when the officers were being shot, they were still trying to get people to safety. i was down on the ground yesterday talking to one of the guys that were protesting, and the cop pushed him out of the way. and that bullet hit another officer. so although there were some differences in our community between the black community and the police, the police were still making it their business to make sure everybody was safe. >> mm-hmm. >> lawrence, after what you experienced, you say it's now going to get worse before it gets better. why do you say that? what do you mean? >> i couldn't hear that, don. >> you said that you believe it's go

jones. megan widmer. oregon. solomon -- chris beretta. pennsylvania joyce haas. lawrence -- puerto rico. rhode island steve farris. elaine grossman. south carolina cindy costa. south dakota david wheeler. and sandy katie. thank you. tennessee john rider. beth cannon. texas steve. utah mike leigh. vermont jason -- >> here. >> thank you. susan hudson. >> here. >> virgin island -- >> here. >> robert max. >> here. virginia ian gentry. washington graham hunt. >> present. >> gina blanchett reid. west virginia betsy -- >> we're going recess until 10:00 a.m. at which point i promise you we'll move forward expeditious. we'll stand in recess until 10:00 a.m. >> thank you, ron. now let me just go through a quick process review for those who are not able to join us yesterday. and a few housekeeping matters. first of all, i know some of you were having a difficult time reading in the glare of the lights. we have had the lights adjusted, as requested. hopefully you won't get such a glare. you won't be quite as clear for the television cameras, but i think you'll be able to read better. are all of the