WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence says U.S. society should “set aside talk” of institutional racism in the wake of more police killings of black men.

Pence told a group of evangelical church leaders Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that recent police shootings in Oklahoma and North Carolina require public officials to “speak with compassion” and assure the public that “justice will be served.”

But he added that “Donald Trump and I both believe that there’s been far too much of this talk of institutional bias or racism in law enforcement.” Pence said “we ought to set aside this talk” that he described as “the rhetoric of division.”

Pence did not mention the names of the latest victims: Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Keith Lamont Scott.

RELATED: Donald Trump calls for unity following violent Charlotte protests