In Baton Rouge, where more than half of the residents are black and racial problems date back to decades ago, tensions between police and the community especially the black community have long existed before Sterling's death.
Minorities are "very wary of police and often afraid of them," Michele Fournet, a Baton Rouge criminal defense lawyer, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
In recent years, local activists have urged law enforcement to spend more time in neighborhoods as part of "community policing." Many would also like the city to hire more black officers.
Local residents said law enforcement officers would have known that Sterling, who had peddled CDs for years, was not a threat if they were more familiar with the area.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters that community policing was the best way to deter crime and protect officers.
UPCOMING CONVENTIONS
Amid national tensions over racial inequality and gun violence, security concerns have heightened across the country, notably in Cleveland and Philadelphia, hosts to this week's Republican National Convention and next week's Democratic National Convention.
The conventions are expected to formally nominate Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for the Nov. 8 election.
A Cleveland police officer, in an interview with Reuters, called on Ohio Governor John Kasich to declare a state of emergency and suspend laws allowing for the open carry of firearms during the Republican convention.
A spokesperson for Kasich said the governor did not have the power to suspend the open-carry law.
Gun control and racial tensions are expected to become one of the major debate points in this year's U.S. presidential race.
"We demand law and order," Trump said in a Facebook posting on Sunday afternoon.
Clinton, in a statement, urged Americans to "stand together to reject violence and strengthen our communities."
With mind on the upcoming national conventions, Obama said in his speech on the Baton Rouge shooting that the "political rhetoric tends to be more overheated than usual."
"We don't need inflammatory rhetoric. We don't need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or to advance the agenda," Obama said.
