Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday this week's police shooting in Charlotte, which has led to two nights of unrest and chaos in the city, proves America has a "policing problem," not just a race problem.
The shooting took place Tuesday night and saw a black police officer fatally shoot a black man who police say had a gun and would not drop it after several orders to do so.
Many of the police shootings of blacks across the country in recent years that have garnered national attention have included white police officers. Charlotte is different, and Sharpton said that shows the problem isn't only about race.
"I think that a lot of people are missing that we have a race problem in the country and we have a policing problem," Sharpton said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"Sometimes they intersect, sometimes they're separate. Charlotte, we're dealing with black policemen that shot and killed the man that we are seeing the protests over. So this is a policing issue. We are kind of like meshing it all together.
"When you're dealing with a policing problem, even black cops behave in a black community differently than they would in another community," Sharpton said later in the interview. "Clearly, this is the case."
Sharpton said he would like to see the issue of police violence discussed during Monday night's presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
"In the middle of what's going on in Tulsa and Charlotte, it ought to be central as president of the United States, what kind of attorney general will you have?" Sharpton said. "Do you support the sentencing reform bill? Should [House Speaker Paul] Ryan move right away? Do you support the president's commission's recommendations?
"Other than that, it becomes a bogus debate to many people that are dealing with these issues in America."
Wednesday night's protests in Charlotte turned into violent riots, with one civilian being shot by another civilian and police clashing with rioters in the streets.
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