Chicago Police On Edge After 3 Baton Rouge Officers Slain In Ambush
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police in Chicago and across the country have been on high alert since a sniper killed five officers and wounded nine others in Dallas on July 7, and tensions were heightened 10 days later, when six Baton Rouge officers were shot, three of them fatally on Sunday.
Chicago police have said there is no known or credible threat to police in Chicago, but officers would continue to patrol in pairs, as they have done since the attack in Dallas.
Some officers have expressed a sense of apprehension in recent days, hoping they'll make it home safe at the end of their shift.
Chicago Police Officer Rick Caballero heads up the Brotherhood for the Fallen, an organization dedicated to supporting the families of police killed in the line of duty.
"It was awful. It was a wrenching feeling in the stomach to see that this happened that quickly, and that it's possibly going to happen again," he said.
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When a police officer dies in the line of duty, Caballero isn't far behind to provide comfort to the family.
A group of 27 officers recently returned to Chicago after attending the funerals for the five Dallas police officers slain by a sniper. Now, the group plans to travel to Louisiana for the three officers shot and killed in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
Caballero said it's hard for officers to put on the uniform every day, and he's sure some have doubts about doing the job after the recent killings in Dallas and Baton Rouge.
"But I think everyone's going to put their uniform on, and go out there, and do it the best they can," he said.
The sniper attack in Dallas happened as police were keeping an eye on a protest march sparked in part by the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge. The motive for the murders of the Baton Rouge officers on Sunday remains unknown, but community activists said whatever the motive was, the killings of police officers must stop, and the focus must be on building relationships between the community and police.
In Chicago, tensions between some community members and Chicago police have been high for months, prompting several marches and protests against police violence, particularly after the release of video of the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Pastor and activist Jedidiah Brown, who has taken part in many of those demonstrations, said he is determined to mend tensions between the community and police.
"Senseless killings of law enforcement will get us nowhere," he said. "The community has to decide to take responsibility and the police has to take responsibility for where we both are at fault."
Brown said he has reached out to Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson.
"We have to get a handle on that situation for our city," he said. "Senseless killings is unacceptable on anybody's part, and we can fix the relationship, and that's what we're going to work on doing."
In a statement Sunday afternoon, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the nation must come together after the "horrific" shooting in Baton Rouge.
"We must rise above the senseless violence that seeds hate at the very time we need to build unity. We must move beyond words and declarations and work towards mutual respect and trust. While it may be difficult, we can achieve it together. That is the American way, and it must be our path forward."
