Boston Officers To Patrol In Pairs Following Dallas Shootings
BOSTON (CBS) – Boston police patrols will be conducted in two-officer units on Friday as a precaution after five Dallas officers were killed by sniper fire at the end of a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest.
Police announced on Friday morning that "in light of the tragedy in Dallas and in the best interest of officer safety," all Boston Police Department patrols will be conducted by two-officer units.
Twelve Dallas police officers were shot and five died Thursday night after they were shot while on duty.
An internal email sent to police warned officers to be "extremely vigilant" and for officers to "use caution coming to and from district stations." The email was sent in response to social media posts by known gang members. The email also stated it is unclear if these threats are credible.
WBZ Security Analyst Ed Davis said police officers everywhere should be on heightened alert.
"There was no individual incident in Dallas that prompted this so it's really a wake-up call to police across the country that this can bubble up anywhere," Davis said.
Davis says that heightened alert puts officers on edge, which may be counterproductive to easing tensions among community members.
"I've talked to a couple of police officers just this morning and they're concerned," Davis said. "They're looking over their shoulder, they're going to be much more hesitant to drop their guard and so that does not bode well for community policing."
Boston Police have lowered flags at all of the city's facilities to half-staff.
"This should not be happening in our country," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday. "We need to stop pointing fingers at each other now and we need to start looking around and say what can we do to make our society better."