Hillside Cop: Best Way To Honor Dallas Officers Is 'Do Your Job Best You Can'
(CBS) -- For hundreds of thousands of police officers across the country, the ambush in Dallas was fresh on their minds as they put on their uniforms today.
CBS 2's Mai Martinez talks with one local officer about what drives him to keep going.
"My heart is broken for the tragic loss of five police officers," Hillside Police Sgt. Carlo Viscioni says.
Viscioni is on patrol in the west suburb, but his thoughts and prayers are with his fellow officers in Dallas.
He, like so many in law enforcement, watched in sadness as the events unfolded Thursday night and woke up to tragic news.
"You don't anticipate that there's going to be five officers killed," he says.
Those officers and their families were on the sergeant's mind Friday as he got ready for work.
"It's unnerving at times," Viscioni says of the escalation of violent events this week.
He adds: "It's not going to stop me from coming in and doing my job, but it can be a little unnerving."
Martinez asks: "When you woke up this morning, was there a part of you that didn't want to go to work?"
"No," he replies. "There was no apprehension at all. Twenty-seven years ago I took an oath to protect the people in this community, and that's what I do."
He says upholding that oath is more important than ever because the officers in Dallas died doing just that.
"The best way that any police officer can honor those officers today is to go out and do your job, and do it the best that you can," he says.
Sgt. Viscioni says being a police officer is one of the most rewarding parts of his life, and he hopes the current challenging climate in the country doesn't deter young people from pursuing law enforcement as a career.