A tearful goodbye was given today to the first of three law enforcement officers killed on Sunday’s police ambush.
Advertisement
When protests erupted here over a black man’s killing during a struggle with two white police officers, Baton Rouge police officer Matthew Gerald made a promise to an old friend who urged him to be careful.
He says we need to put aside our differences and start to understand respect.
Officers killed in the shooting were Montrell Jackson and Matthew Gerald of the Baton Rouge Police Department and Brad Garafola, a sheriff’s deputy with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“The media has blasted us for what we do and how we do it, basically portraying law enforcement as these band of bullies who go around and beat people up”, the chief said. “We’re not bullies. We are protecting our communities”.
Gerald was remembered during a funeral service at the Healing Place Church. Garafola and at least two other Baton Rouge law enforcement officers investigating a report of a man with an assault rifle were killed Sunday, July 17, 2016, less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police here in a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide. Video recordings that surfaced after the shooting raised questions about whether Sterling was a threat during his altercation with two Baton Rouge police officers.
Friday’s mourners at the Healing Place Church included a police contingent from Dallas, where five officers were killed on July 7 by another black former USA serviceman.
“The men and women who put on those uniforms, they respect you”. She referred to her husband as her ¨blue-eyed-rock¨ in a written tribute. The wounded officers include a sheriff’s deputy who remains in critical condition after being shot in the head and stomach.
They were discussing how much all those situations were putting a strain on the community and police relations, said Mitchell as reported by the CBS News.
Mitchell said they were writing reports at police headquarters Sunday when Gerald said he was going for an energy drink at the B-Quick store less than a mile away.
Around 8:44 a.m., police received a call of officers down, and just a few minutes later police received a call of more shots fired.
The CBS News says that Mitchell told that at the store someone told Gerald that an armed man was walking through the area, and Mitchell says his partner radioed for help.
Banks-Daniel and some other council members say they believe that police officers who live within city limits are better able to connect with the neighborhoods they patrol and police.
Advertisement
Gerald joined the Baton Rouge Police Department less than a year ago, an enthusiastic rookie at age 41, after serving four years in the Marines and seven years in the Army, including three tours in Iraq. His tragic death ended his promising career as Baton Rouge officer.
