Riverside County Sheriff’s response to Dallas police shooting
All of us within the “extended family” of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department share deep sadness and we grieve alongside our brothers and sisters within the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police involved in that horrific incident yesterday, now the deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement since 9-11.
Sniping from ambush has always elicited the deepest feelings of helplessness and fear within our law enforcement community, because our profession is always so very vulnerable, as we each pass in harm’s way every day by the very nature of our duty to the communities we serve. Why these officers were so randomly felled yesterday in the line of duty doing what they took an oath to do – protecting their community – can only be for reasons known but to God.
As each of you go about your duties over the next few days in the aftermath of this tragedy, each of you must remain fully alert while we also each simultaneously grieve for our Dallas brothers and sisters – regardless of the color of our uniforms, differing patches and the various shapes of our badges – we are all in the end one large “family”, and the “guardians” of our communities.
This tragedy reminds us all to maintain confidence in your peers, your chain of command, our unique organization, and your training – and to treasure every day the critical support of each of your families, that is more important than ever for every member of our agency.
Remain vigilant, without over-reaction or under-reaction, but above all remain focused on “teamwork” – that ability to plan and communicate within your teams – and depending upon and trusting your peer brothers and sisters in law enforcement is critical is this unsettling age of extremists, polarization and the far-too-zealous.
Our community and our nation need this from all of us within our profession, these days now more than ever. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Dallas officers, as well with each of their extended families, as we mourn this tragic loss to our law enforcement ranks, yet honor the memory of what their lives clearly stood for yesterday.
