'Violence doesn't heal anybody': Anti-police brutality organizers say they're devastated by attacks

You can protest police brutality but still be horrified by the mass shooting of police officers that took place in Dallas on Thursday evening.

In interviews with The Dallas Morning News, organizers of last night's rally against police violence said they were devastated by the attack on police officers who were ensuring the safety of what had been a peaceful protest.

"We want Dallas to know that violence of any kind we condemn," said Dominique Alexander, the founder of the Next Generation Action Network that organized Thursday night's protest. "We continue to stand with the families of these officers and pray with them, as well as we stand with the families of Alton Sterling and Philando in Minnesota."

Dr. Jeff Hood, another protest organizer, also expressed horror at the shootings and condemned violence against police officers.

"We didn't want anyone else to die," he said. "That is the reason we did the protest... Violence doesn't heal anybody."

And John Fullinwider, the co-founder of the group Mothers Against Police Brutality, emphasized that the point of these protests is about reforming police practices -- it's "not about hating the police."

The whole report on protesters' reactions to the shootings is very worth reading and can be found here.