In the wake of the publication of a video of the Tulsa killing of a black man by a police officer and the subsequent riots in Charlotte, North Carolina, the two rival candidates for the White House, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, both reacted sharply to the killing. Clinton called it "horrible" and "unbearable" and called for the implementation of national standards for police shootings while Trump also said he was "very troubled" by the killing.

Speaking in Florida, Clinton opened her speech by referring to the two police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte. She read out the names of those killed, Terrence Crutcher in Tulsa and Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, and said that "We have two more names to add to the long list of Afro-Americans killed by police officers in these encounters."

Clinton also mentioned her connection with the mothers who had lost children in similar circumstances and said: "We can manage things in a better way as indeed we will do - together- if I am elected President." However, she admitted that she did not know how to solve the problem.

Trump's camp are placing the emphasis on the need for law and order. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told Fox news that "loss of life is tragic and I I feel like we all should be looking at it non-partisanly, not even bipartisanly, if you will."

Clinton "doesn’t pass up a moment to weigh in and try to score points or score votes,” according to Conway.

Until now Trump has given his full support to police in every case of a shooting, citing their dedication to maintaining the peace.

However lately he has been trying to widen his voter base to blacks and this may have influenced his response to recent events.

After watching the Tulsa video, Trump said that the man's hands were in the air and he "seemed to do whatever you're supposed to do, he looked like a really good guy." He hinted that the policewoman who shot Karcher had been nervous and might be unsuitable for her job.

The police claimed that Karcher did not obey her instructions and she thought he was putting his hand in the car to take something out. They added that ecstasy drugs were found in his car.