North Texas Police Have Safety Concerns After NYC Police Murders
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The ambush-style killing of two New York policemen has officers across America looking over their shoulders.
In Dallas three of four labor groups representing the men and women who answer 911 calls for help have a lot to say even if the department and city hall do not.
"There's a great danger; and there's a lot of violent rhetoric against police officers right now. And as you can see after this weekend it's even more dangerous than it's ever been," said Ron Pinkston, president of the Dallas Police Association.
He pointed out the execution-style murders of the two New York officers came one week after a protest crowd chanted, 'What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now.' Pinkston says, "You never know when it's going to happen and with all the rhetoric that is running around it could happen to anybody."
As evidence, Pinkston points to a recent Facebook post of a local incident where a Cleburne officer killed a dog. In the post a man asks, "Can anybody hack this cop for me? I want his address, he needs to pay for this."
The President of the Dallas Fraternal Order of Police shares Pinkston's concerns. "Protesting is one thing," says Richard Todd adding, "taking peoples lives is another. It's just wrong."
The Dallas FOP joins the DPA in urging an end to any single officer rushing to a crime scene. "We would like to see mandatory two-man squads for awhile, nobody should be out there riding by themselves until this calms down," Todd told CBS 11 News.
The labor groups argue that local protest marches do not represent the views of most law-abiding citizens and that public officials need to stand up for cops.
"We have a lot of people that support us in the community and they need to rise up and call the political leaders and let them know that enough is enough," according to Pinkston.
"We have certain individuals that may have radical beliefs," agrees Dominique Alexander, the man who organized local marches.
"We don't encourage that (radicalism); but one of the things that we cannot stop those individuals, but we try rally up and encourage people to remain, remain peaceful in our demonstrations."
He does not condone what happened to the New York police. Or to the black men killed by officers in New York and Ferguson. "We can't ask or get anything accomplished in violence." He plans another protest on January 3rd.
Pastor Bertrain Bailey of St. John's Baptist Church in Oak Cliff plans one, too, on New Year's Eve.
It will be a march from South Oak Cliff High School to his church, then a 10pm get-together with local police officers to maintain a dialogue of interactions between the public and police.
Pastor Bailey believes police tactics can be criticized while not condoning Saturday's violence against them. "No way, not at all, that was senseless killing.
I agree with the family members of Eric Garner to detach his name from that. That does not speak on what the African American community or the brown community is about."
The DPA has published a list of recommendations for officers including not doing paperwork in dark areas; being aware of the potential for an ambush at an intersection; waiting for backup before heading into a crime scene; being aware they could still be a target while off-duty; and to redoubling efforts to know what's going on around them.
Monday night Dallas Police Chief, David Brown sent a statement regarding the New York City Police Chief's murders to Dallas officers.
In light of the recent tragedy in New York City, we want to remind you of the importance to cover each other on traffic stops and mark outs and to wait for cover on calls. Equally important is that we remain vigilant and remember that the great majority of our citizens are supportive.
Our Fusion and task force members continuously monitor various media and intelligence sources that may be a threat to our officers. Any credible intelligence we receive pertaining to the safety of our officers will be passed along.
I know that you will continue to perform at the highest level during these challenging times.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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