Detroit Police Warned To Stay On High Alert Following Deadly Ambush In Dallas
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - The Detroit Police Department is on heightened alert as a result of the deadly police shootings in Dallas.
A spokesman for the DPD said officers will go out and do their jobs, but they've been told to be extra cautious.
"All officers should be on high alert, be aware of your surroundings and back each other up," a Detroit dispatcher told officers as the shooting unfolded Thursday night. "Be vigilant, be safe out there."
Assistant Detroit Police Chief Steve Dolunt said it's crucial that his officers stay prepared.
"I think the officers have really gone over and beyond when it comes to community policing and I think we have a good rapport with the community," he said. "But that being said, it only takes one or two people to become antagonists and cause problems. ... You have to go home to your family at night, so that's our goal. Some people in Dallas aren't, so we have to be more cognizant of that."
Officers will especially have their guards up Friday morning as a group of student recruits will be sworn in as police officers.
"You know, it's ironic, we have 21 people graduating today to become police officers and some of them are probably wondering 'Why are we doing this?' You do it not for the money, but you do it because you can make a difference," said Dolunt. "And I know that sounds [cliché], but you do it because you care."
Dolunt said several Detroit officers moved to Dallas within the past few years, and he's trying to find out if they were among the 12 officers shot.
"I'm sick to my stomach. I walked into headquarters and it's very somber, we have officers that are extremely upset," he said.
Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas, killing five officers and injuring seven others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men, police said, in a week that bore dark echoes of the tumultuous civil rights era.
Three people are in custody and a fourth suspect was exchanging gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said early Friday morning.
The suspect is not cooperating and has told negotiators he intends to hurt more law enforcement officials, the chief said.
The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. Brown told reporters the snipers fired "ambush style" upon the officers. Mayor Mike Rawlings said one member of the public was wounded in the gunfire.
Protests were held in several other cities across the country Thursday night after a Minnesota officer on Wednesday fatally shot Philando Castile while he was in a car with a woman and a child. The aftermath of the shooting was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video. A day earlier, Alton Sterling was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. That, too, was captured on a cellphone video.
Video footage from the Dallas scene showed protesters were marching along a street in downtown, about half a mile from City Hall, when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.
Brown said that it appeared the shooters "planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could."
Police don't have a motivation for the attacks or any information on the suspects. Brown said they "triangulated" in the downtown area where the protesters were marching and had "some knowledge of the route" they would take.
The attacks made Thursday the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks on-duty officer deaths.
Four of the officers who were killed were with the Dallas Police Department, a spokesman said. One was a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer.
President Barack Obama said America is "horrified" over the shootings and there's no possible justification for the attacks.
Speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he's meeting with leaders of the European Union and attending a NATO summit, the president said justice will be done and he's asking all Americans to pray for the fallen officers and their families. He also said the nation should express its gratitude to those serving in law enforcement.
People on Dallas' tense, police-filled streets early Friday struggled to fathom the situation.
"I think the biggest thing that we've had something like this is when JFK died. It's like, shut the city down, downtown like this, it's surreal to me," said city native Jalisa Jackson, who said she was scared. "I mean we're all out, everyone's trying to get answers, find people, find loved ones and we kind of don't, we kind of, like, don't even know what's going on."
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