Police Here On Alert After Spate Of Officer Shootings Across Nation
(CBS) – The latest wave of violence against police officers across the country is unnerving law enforcement here in the Chicago region.
"It seems like there's a bigger bullseye on our backs every time we come into work," Hillside Police Officer Chris Villarreal says.
Villarreal has been a police officer for nearly 25 years, but he's never seen anything like the violence and hatred directed at police these days.
Police Chief Joseph Lukaszek says all officers are fully aware of the danger. For some, it has proven to be too much.
He says one recent recruit resigned after five weeks.
"He walked in and said, 'I don't want to do this anymore, it's too dangerous,'" Lukaszek says.
Villarreal says he won't give into fear.
"If you're afraid, you get paralyzed, and then you're not able to protect yourself and not able to do what you need to do to protect the other guys that you work with," he says.
In Chicago, in response to the attacks, a police department spokesperson says for the most part officers are working in pairs for added safety.
A bulletin was sent to officers calling for increased vigilance during traffic stops and field interviews.