Police Chief David Brown delved into Stevie Wonder's back catalogue to express his feelings at the Dallas memorial service for the five murdered officers Tuesday, quoting at length from the singer's 1977 hit "As." 
 
 After talking about his youth listening to the likes of Al Green and Teddy Pendergrass and trying to get dates, Brown asked the audience at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center to imagine him with an afro and bell bottoms. 
 
 Then he said he would "pull out some Stevie Wonder for these families," referring to the relatives of Brent Thompson, Lorne Ahrens, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol and Michael Smith who were killed during a mass shooting Thursday night. He went on to quote from the middle part of the song. 
 
 "We all know sometimes life's hates and troubles / 
 
 Can make you wish you were born in another time and space / 
 
 But you can bet your life times that and twice its double / 
 
 That God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed / So make sure when you say you're not in it but not of it / 
 
 You're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell / 
 
 Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love / 
 
 And maybe your children's grandchildren / 
 
 And their great-great grandchildren will tell them / 
 
 I'll be loving you." 
 
 "Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky - I'll be loving you. Until the ocean covers every mountain high - I'll be loving you," he continued, before reciting several more lines of the song. 
 
 President Barack Obama, who was next to the stage, responded with a quick quip before making his own remarks. "Chief Brown, I'm so glad I met Michelle first because she loves Stevie Wonder," he said. 
 
 After Dallas PD chief reads Stevie Wonder to honor fallen, @POTUS pays homage to him with quick joke pic.twitter.com/SKDfRv5dvD — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama then embarked on a speech that addressed the events of the last week that saw two black men killed by police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Falcon Heights, Minnesota and subsequently five officers shot by Micah Johnson in Dallas. 
 
 The president praised the police force, noting that for officers "the reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law." 
 
 He also insisted that the country "must reject despair" and "try to find some meaning amidst our sorrow," adding that "we are not as divided as we seem." 
 
 .@POTUS: "We are not as divided as we seem... I know because I know America" pic.twitter.com/8Uh4s40rVM — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama also said he had seen how "inadequate" his words had been. 
 
 Obama and Brown were joined by former President George W. Bush, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, who were among the attendees at the 2,000-capacity venue. 
 
 PANORAMIC inside Dallas' crowded Meyerson Symphony Ctr as police await Presidents Obama, Bush in memorial service. pic.twitter.com/M67GrVequk — Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) July 12, 2016 
 
 Inside, portraits of the five officers who were killed stood on the stage in front of the piano. 
 
 Portraits of the five officers killed during the shooting in downtown Dallas Thursday night were displayed at the service. Image: APAP Photo/Eric Gay 
 
 They were killed while standing guard as people peacefully protested the police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier in the week. The attack ended with the gunman, Micah Johnson, 25, blown up by a bomb delivered by a police robot. 
 
 DART police officer Misty McBride, right, is embraced by a fellow officer as she arrives for a memorial at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Image: APAP Photo/Eric Gay 
 
 Five empty seats in the auditorium were decorated with American flags in their honor. 
 
 Five empty seats for the five fallen Dallas PD officers at today's memorial. pic.twitter.com/mkEuAvYCwa — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 During the interfaith service, choirs from six churches across the city sung for some time before the front row of the stage filled with dignitaries. 
 
 "Amazing Grace" and "It Is Well With My Soul" were among the hymns chosen. 
 
 Choir has started singing at memorial service for Dallas' fallen officers. #DallasStrong pic.twitter.com/kKcXmSCfsy — Dallas Weekly (@dallasweekly) July 12, 2016 
 
 Bush spoke about unity, insisting that "the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together." 
 
 Fmr. Pres. Bush: "The forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together" pic.twitter.com/hVy3ycRfWS — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 The service ended with officials and dignitaries joining hands as the choir sung. 
 
 Officials and dignitaries join hands as choir sings. #DallasMemorial pic.twitter.com/qd2ZChdoyL — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama and Biden were also due to meet privately Tuesday with the families of the killed officers as well as some of those injured. At least nine other officers and two civilians were injured in the attack. 
 
 Obama called the families of the two black men shot by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota in the week leading up to the Dallas shooting, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, ahead of the service. 
 
 Obama spoke to Valerie Castile, Philando Castile's mother, and Alton Sterling's family ahead of service. (Photo: AP) pic.twitter.com/cvmGUkupZf — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 12, 2016 
 
 Obama and Biden met with police chiefs, sheriffs and officers Monday to discuss adopting a series of reforms drafted by a White House task force on policing, and to talk about how to restore trust between officers and the communities they serve. 
 
 The Associated Press contributed reporting. 
 
 Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. ||||| Americans, he said, “can turn on the TV or surf the internet, and we can watch positions harden and lines drawn, and people retreat to their respective corners, and politicians calculate how to grab attention or avoid the fallout. We see all this, and it’s hard not to think sometimes that the center won’t hold and that things might get worse.” 
 
 But Mr. Obama insisted on holding out hope. 
 
 “Dallas, I’m here to say we must reject such despair,” Mr. Obama said, adding that he knew that because of “what I’ve experienced in my own life, what I’ve seen of this country and its people — their goodness and decency — as president of the United States.” 
 
 He cited both the Dallas police and protesters as part of that decency. “When the bullets started flying, the men and women of the Dallas police, they did not flinch and they did not react recklessly,” Mr. Obama said. “They showed incredible restraint. Helped in some cases by protesters, they evacuated the injured, isolated the shooter and saved more lives than we will ever know. We mourn fewer people today because of your brave actions. ‘Everyone was helping each other,’ one witness said. ‘It wasn’t about black or white. Everyone was picking each other up and moving them away.’” 
 
 Mr. Obama concluded: “See, that’s the America I know.” 
 
 A row of police officers behind Mr. Obama in the concert hall did not clap when Mr. Obama spoke of racial bias in the criminal justice system, saying that “when all this takes place more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, we cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid.” 
 
 But when Mr. Obama added, “We ask the police to do too much, and we ask too little of ourselves,” the officers behind him applauded. ||||| Dallas police chief David Brown spoke during an interfaith memorial service Tuesday in honor of the five police officers who were killed last week. He read the lyrics to Stevie Wonder’s As, after explaining that when he liked a girl as a teenager, ‘I had to dig down deep to get some Stevie Wonder to fully express the love I had for the girl … So today I’m going to pull out some Stevie Wonder for these families’ ||||| Today, President Obama addressed the families of the fallen and the Dallas community to honor the five police officers who died in the line of service last Thursday. Watch his remarks: 
 
 Here are a few key moments from his address. 
 
 On the exemplary lives of the five fallen officers: 
 
 "These men & their families shared a commitment to something larger than themselves." —@POTUS at the #DallasMemorial https://t.co/fbQxve1JMB — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "The reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law; that the maintenance of that law is a hard and daily labor; that in this country, we don’t have soldiers in the streets or militias setting the rules; instead, we have public servants – police officers – like the men who were taken away from us." 
 
 On the police department and community of Dallas: 
 
 “I see what’s possible when we recognize that we are one American family, all deserving of equal treatment” —@POTUS https://t.co/HtPzzOR29l — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "I see what’s possible when we recognize that we are all one American family, all deserving of equal treatment and respect. That’s the America that I know." 
 
 On whether the divides of race can be bridged: 
 
 “I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem.” —@POTUS https://t.co/eNwmJM5UVW — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. I know that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds. I know we’ll make it because of what I’ve experienced in my own life, what I’ve seen of this country and its people as President. And I know it because of what we’ve seen here in Dallas – how all of you, out of great suffering, have shown us the meaning of perseverance, and character, and hope." 
 
 On the need to act on what we know about existing challenges in our society: 
 
 "We cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers" —@POTUS #DallasMemorial https://t.co/S2Lueskwzf — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "If we cannot even talk about these things – honestly and openly – not just in the comfort of our own circles, but with those who look different than us or bring a different perspective, then we will never break this dangerous cycle. So in the end, it is not about finding policies that work; it’s about forging consensus; fighting cynicism; and finding the political will to make change. 
 
 On whether Americans can find the character to open our hearts to each other: 
 
 "With an open heart, we can learn to stand in each other's shoes." —@POTUS at the #DallasMemorial https://t.co/4fCI6iLBy4 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "That’s what we must pray for – each of us. A new heart. Not a heart of stone, but a heart open to the fears and hopes and challenges of our fellow citizens. That’s what we’ve seen in Dallas these past few days. That’s what we must sustain." 
 
 On our capacity to change: 
 
 "We cannot match their courage, but we can strive to match their devotion." — @POTUS on honoring the fallen officers https://t.co/bF5WPhxTCh — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2016 
 
 "As we get older, we learn we don’t always have control of things – not even a President does. But we do have control over how we respond to the world. We do have control over how we treat one another." 
 
 On the night of July 7, 2016, a lone gunman targeted the police in Dallas who were keeping people safe during a peaceful protest. At least eleven officers were shot, five were killed, and others were injured -- including two civilians. As Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings reported, the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 
 
 While in Warsaw, Poland for the NATO Summit, President Obama offered the following statement: 
 
 
 
 Attorney General Loretta Lynch made a statement on the attacks in Dallas. 
 
 We must continue working to build trust between communities and law enforcement. We must continue working to guarantee every person in this country equal justice under the law. We must take a hard look at the ease with which wrongdoers can get their hands on deadly weapons and the frequency with which they use them. We must reflect on the kind of country we want to build and the kind of society we want to pass on to our children. Attorney General Loretta Lynch 
 
 You can read her full statement here. 
 
 As a mark of respect for the victims of the attack on police officers, the President has also issued a Presidential Proclamation ordering that flags will be flown at half-staff throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, July 12, 2016. 
 
 see the proclamation 
 
 Transcript of President Obama's statement: 
 
 
 
 With your understanding, I want to begin with a few words about the situation back in the United States, specifically the situation in Dallas, Texas. 
 
 My team has been keeping me updated throughout the morning of the evening in Dallas. I spoke this morning with Mayor Rawlings of Dallas to convey the deepest condolences of the American people. I told him that the federal government will provide whatever assistance Dallas may need as it deals with this tremendous tragedy. 
 
 We still don’t know all the facts. What we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement. Police in Dallas were on duty, doing their jobs, keeping people safe during peaceful protests. These law enforcement officers were targeted, and nearly a dozen officers were shot. Five were killed. Other officers and at least one civilian were wounded -- some are in serious condition, and we are praying for their recovery. 
 
 As I told Mayor Rawlings, I believe that I speak for every single American when I say that we are horrified over these events, and that we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas. According to police, there are multiple suspects. We will learn more, undoubtedly, about their twisted motivations. But let's be clear: There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement. The FBI is already in touch with the Dallas police, and anyone involved in these senseless murders will be held fully accountable. Justice will be done. 
 
 I will have more to say about this as the facts become more clear. For now, let me just say that even as yesterday I spoke about our need to be concerned, as all Americans, about racial disparities in our criminal justice system, I also said yesterday that our police have an extraordinarily difficult job and the vast majority of them do their job in outstanding fashion. I also indicated the degree to which we need to be supportive of those officers who do their job each and every day, protecting us and protecting our communities. 
 
 Today is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices that they make for us. We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic. And in the days ahead, we’re going to have to consider those realities as well. 
 
 In the meantime, today our focus is on the victims and their families. They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving. Police across America, which is a tight-knit family, feels this loss to their core. And we're grieving with them. I’d ask all Americans to say a prayer for these officers and their families. Keep them in your thoughts. And as a nation, let’s remember to express our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue -- not just today, but every day. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Rating is available when the video has been rented. 
 
 This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. ||||| President Barack Obama, speaking in Dallas this afternoon to a community — and a nation — reeling from last week's deadly sniper attack, said Americans must reject despair during these tough times. 
 
 Interested in ? Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest 
 
 "We turn on the TV or surf the internet, and we can watch positions harden and lines drawn and people retreat to their respective corners," he said at a multi-faith memorial at the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center. "Politicians calculate how to grab attention or avoid the fallout. We see all this, and it's hard not to think sometimes that the center won't hold. And that things might get worse. I understand. I understand how Americans are feeling. But, Dallas, I'm here to say we must reject such despair." 
 
 Obama, who cut short a trip to Europe to be at the memorial, continued, "I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds. I know we'll make it because of what I've experienced in my own life. What I've seen of this country and its people, their goodness and decency, as president of the United States." 
 
 He said, "This is the America I know," citing how protesters and police officers are mourning side by side, grieving for the five officers slain in Dallas as well as the two black men recently killed by police — Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. 
 
 "In this audience I see what's possible," Obama said. "I see what's possible when we recognize that we are one American family. All deserving of equal treatment. All deserving equal respect. All children of God. That's the America I know." 
 
 He continued that often with memorials — having spoken at too many during his presidency and hugging "too many families" — the spirit for change falls to daily life, and words are inadequate. 
 
 "Because they're comfortable," he said. "We're used to them. I've seen how inadequate words can be in bringing about lasting change. I've seen how inadequate my own words have been." 
 
 He criticized the instinct to dismiss people's experiences and their pain over needing to instruct their children how to respond to police officers so they don't get shot. 
 
 "When all this takes place more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act? We cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protests as troublemakers or paranoid," he said. "You can't simply dismiss it as a symptom of political correctness or reverse racism. To have your experience denied like that, dismissed by those in authority, dismissed perhaps even by your white friends and co-workers and fellow church members, again and again and again? It hurts. Surely, we can see that. All of us." 
 
 The president also criticized how much society asks police officers to do in the current system, echoing the remarks earlier this week of Dallas Police Chief David Brown. 
 
 "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," he said. "As a society, we choose to underinvest in decent schools. We allow poverty to fester so that entire neighborhoods offer no prospect for gainful employment. We refuse to fund drug treatment and mental health programs." 
 
 While Obama took on the division and tensions of race in America, he called on unity in the country to address those issues. 
 
 "Because the vicious killer of these police officers — it won't be the last person who tries to make us turn on one another. The killer in Orlando wasn't. Nor was the killer in Charleston. We know there is evil in this world. That's why we need police departments," he said. "But as Americans, we can decide that people like this killer will ultimately fail. They will not drive us apart. We can decide to come together and make our country reflect the good inside us, the hopes and simple dreams we share." 
 
 Obama began his remarks with scripture, returning to it throughout his remarks. To Obama's side, five chairs remained empty except for a folded American flag on each one as a tribute to the fallen officers. 
 
 "Scripture tells us that in our sufferings, there is glory. Because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character. And character, hope. Sometimes the truths of these words are hard to see," Obama said. "Right now those words test us. Because the people of Dallas, people across the country are suffering." 
 
 He spent time speaking about the fallen officers and details from their lives, including Lorne Ahrens, who "the night before he died, he bought dinner for a homeless man," Obama said, adding that Ahrens' two children still don't understand what happened. 
 
 "These men and their families shared a commitment to something larger than themselves. They weren't looking for their names to be up in lights. They'd tell you the pay was decent but wouldn't make you rich," Obama said. "They could have told you about the stress and long shifts. They probably agree with Chief Brown when he said that cops don't expect to hear the words 'thank you' very often. Especially from those who need them the most. No. The reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law, that the maintenance of that law is a hard and daily labor, that in this country we don't have soldiers in the streets or militias setting the rules." 
 
 The president worked late into the night consulting Scripture to write his remarks, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One traveling to Dallas. 
 
 Obama stressed the way forward is unity — a theme throughout his speech and the entire service. 
 
 "Hope does not arise by putting our fellow man down. It is found by lifting others up. And that's what I take away from the lives of these outstanding men," he said. "The pain we feel may not soon pass. But my faith tells me that they did not die in vain. I believe our sorrow can make us a better country. I believe our righteous anger can be transformed into more justice and more peace." 
 
 Former President George W. Bush spoke before Obama. 
 
 "These slain officers were the best among us," Bush said at the memorial before naming the officers and providing some details about each one. "Most of us imagine that if the moment called for it, we would risk our lives to protect a spouse or a child. Those wearing the uniform assume that risk for the safety of strangers." 
 
 Bush said that often "we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions" and spoke of the need for unity and tolerance. 
 
 "This is the bridge across our nation's deepest divisions. And it is not merely a matter of tolerance but of learning from the struggles and stories of our fellow citizens and finding our better selves in the process," he said. "At our best, we know we have one country, one future, one destiny. We do not want the unity of grief, nor do we want the unity of fear. We want the unity of hope, affection and high purpose." 
 
 "To wage this battle against violence and separatism, today must be about unity," Dallas Mayor Michael S. Rawlings said at the start of the service. "Unity among faiths, unity among police and citizens and, yes, unity among politicians. In recent days I've seen unity, even before that tragedy, when police and protesters mingled peacefully." 
 
 He spoke of bringing together the interfaith choir and the former president and the current one to speak at the memorial. 
 
 For more than an hour after today's service, the President and First Lady visited with the families of the officers who were killed and many of those who were wounded, including law enforcement officers from Dallas Police Department, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and El Centro College. The Vice President and Dr. Biden and President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush participated as well. 
 
 This is the 11th time Obama has traveled to a community in the wake of a mass shooting. His visit comes as racial tension across the country mounts as the number of black men killed by police continues to grow. 
 
 Obama was joined on Air Force One — which touched down at Dallas Love Field at 12:15 p.m. local time — by Ted Cruz, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Marc Veasey and Eddie Bernice Johnson. Veasey and Johnson, both Democrats, are from districts in the Dallas area. 
 
 Cruz, R-Texas, a forceful critic of Obama, was aboard the plane at the president's invitation —- a sign of setting partisanship aside during a time of tragedy. Just last month, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., did the same when he traveled with Obama to Orlando to pay respects to those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting. 
 
 Obama invited House Speaker Paul Ryan to fly on Air Force One to attend the service, but the Republican leader was unable to attend, his spokeswoman AshLee Strong said. ||||| Gaye Arbuckle lived through an extraordinary moment Tuesday afternoon. She sang a solo, a gospel song, which for her is nothing unusual. But on this day, there was nothing even remotely usual, or normal, or commonplace about whom she sang for. 
 
 The crowd included President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama; Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden; and former President George W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Laura Bush. 
 
 It also included a capacity crowd of more than 2,000 people at the Meyerson Symphony Center, many of them law enforcement officers still feeling a deep, raw grief over the loss of five from their ranks, men who were gunned down Thursday night during a protest in downtown Dallas. 
 
 Arbuckle's performance was extraordinary, a healing moment in a service that sought to heal, in whatever way it could. 
 
 She sang "Total Praise," by Richard Smallwood. The crowd appeared especially moved when she sang the lines: 
 
 Lord, I will lift my eyes to the hills 
 
 Knowing my help is coming from you 
 
 Your peace you give me in time of the storm 
 
 "I thought it was a good song for healing," said Arbuckle, 51, a Dallas native who graduated from Carter High School in 1982 and who for the past 12 years has served as minister of music at Concord Church in Oak Cliff. She's the mother of two children who live in Dallas, where she still makes her home. She had been picked as one of two people to lead the 60-member choir that sang during Tuesday's emotionally moving service, which ended with a presidential address. 
 
 Arbuckle said it had long been one of her dreams, an item on her "bucket list," to sing not just for any president but President Obama in particular. 
 
 She picked "Total Praise," hoping to soothe, however slightly, those feeling "stress, pain, sadness and everything going on in the city right now. We needed something that would encourage all of us, white, black, brown, it doesn't matter. In Dallas, we just need healing." 
 
 Given the ears that would hear her sing, however, her Monday night and Tuesday morning emotions went way beyond any normal sense of stage fright, or apprehension, or anxiety. 
 
 But she handled it like the pro that she is. 
 
 "We had rehearsal Monday," she said. "I just taught the song, and I wasn't really planning to lead the song, but then I thought, 'I'm going to go ahead and lead it, and maybe that will give a little more expression to the song.' I wanted to, then I thought not to, and then this morning, I thought, 'What an opportunity to give people strength during this time when people are hurting.' " 
 
 Arbuckle will never forget the families of the fallen sitting on the front row, in particular a woman, who was either a sister or wife of one of the officers killed in the line of duty. The woman sobbed uncontrollably as the scarlet-haired Arbuckle sang out powerfully. 
 
 "I thought, 'This has to be what God wants me to do.' I felt I was being called to give her strength, in whatever way I could." 
 
 After the service, one of those who sought out Arbuckle for praise was Michelle Obama, who told her how much she loved the song and how dynamically Arbuckle had sung it. President Bush told her it was "great." Vice President Biden added his commendation, calling it "a great performance." 
 
 Arbuckle lauded the service as a whole, saying, "I thought it was needed. Desperately." She, for one, came away feeling a collective reassurance "that we live in a country, a place where we feel, rightly, that we can be protected by police. It was reassuring to feel that everything will be better than it has been." 
 
 She also felt doubly reassured in having picked Smallwood's song, because it shows us "where our power comes from — it comes from God. People need to know that, even though it may not look like it right now, God has everything planned. I hope everybody felt blessed, because that's what it's all about." 
 
 This is Arbuckle singing a solo about a year ago: 
 
 On Twitter: 
 
 @mgranberry
– President Obama delivered a stirring call for unity at Tuesday's memorial service for five slain Dallas police officers, but the city's top cop's soulful tribute is the one getting the most attention. Dallas Police Chief David Brown recited lyrics from Stevie Wonder's "As," explaining that as a young man in the '70s, he used to recite song lyrics to get dates (and when it was love, he "had to dig down deep to get some Stevie Wonder to fully express the love I had")—and he wanted to show some of that love to the officers' families, the Miami Herald reports. "We all know sometimes life's hate and troubles can make you wish you were born in another time and place, but you can bet your lifetimes and twice as double that God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed," recited the chief, who was greeted with a long standing ovation when he rose to speak. "So make sure when you say you're in it, but not of it, you're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called hell. Change your words into truth and then change that truth into love," the chief continued. He recited several more lines before introducing Obama, who quipped: "Chief Brown, I'm so glad I met Michelle first because she loves Stevie Wonder," Mashable notes. In other coverage: The service at the Meyerson Symphony Center also included an extraordinary performance from gospel singer Gaye Arbuckle. The Dallas Morning News describes her rendition of "Total Praise" by Richard Smallwood as a "healing moment in a service that sought to heal, in whatever way it could." Obama delivered his remarks—which can be seen in full here—next to five chairs empty but for folded American flags as tributes to the fallen officers, ABC News reports. The White House says the president stayed up long into the night to write the speech himself, drawing on the Bible for inspiration. The New York Times reports that Obama's speech was, for the most part, welcomed by law enforcement officials, as was that of George W. Bush. "Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions,” Bush said to applause. "And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose."