Los Angeles’ police chief and mayor met with President Obama on Wednesday for a White House discussion on race, policing and solutions to get rid of the tensions that have flared following the police shootings of black men and a sniper attack on officers.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Eric Garcetti went by an overnight flight to Washington for the meeting, accompanying dozens of law enforcement officers, activists, academics and elected officials. The 4 1/2-hour meeting ran longer than expected .

Beck said, ”We didn’t agree on everything – that’s for sure. But we all agreed that the discussion has become far too polarized, that people aren’t listening to each other, people aren’t showing empathy.”

The often-heated national conversation about race and policing was refocused last week after the fatal police shootings of two black men, Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and the deadly sniper attack on officers during an otherwise peaceful protest in Dallas.

The President told, “There are still deep divisions about how to solve these problems. There's no doubt that police departments still feel embattled and unjustly accused.  And there is no doubt that minority communities, communities of color still feel like it just takes too long to do what's right.” He added, “The pace of change is going to feel too fast for some and too slow for others.”

In Wednesday’s meeting, they also included the discussions about shootings by officers and how police will respond to demonstrations. The group learned from both officials and activists in Louisiana and Minnesota about their experiences in recent days.

According to Beck, they also discussed the need of different viewpoints to the same table.  Attendees included Attorney Gen. Loretta Lynch and Rev. Al Sharpton, along with prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.

By Prakriti Neogi