Now police across the country are taking precautions. In all, the violence has cost the lives of eight officers, including those in Baton Rouge, and two civilians and sparked a national debate over race and policing. Officers are also being instructed to take all meals and personal breaks in pairs.
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The head of a Cleveland police union called on Ohio Governor John Kasich to declare a state of emergency and suspend laws allowing for the open carry of firearms during the Republican convention. “He was a police officer, he wanted peace”.
Also Sunday, a domestic violence suspect opened fire on a Milwaukee police officer who was sitting in his squad vehicle.
Almost 2½ minutes after the first report of an officer getting shot, an officer on the scene is heard saying police do not know the shooter’s location.
Also killed in the attack were BRPD Officer Matthew Gerald, 41, and Brad Garafola, 45, a deputy with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. Today is about mourning for their families as well as applauding the courage and dedication of law enforcement officers. “That’s how this country gets united”.
Edmonson said several officers came under fire as police were responding to a report of a man dressed in black standing behind a store holding a rifle shortly before 9 a.m.
In interviews with the Associated Press and the New York Times, officials with the Louisiana State Police said that preliminary investigation showed that Long ambushed the police officers.
Clark Atlanta said in a statement Monday morning that the university “categorically denounces this heinous act”.
In the ensuing pandemonium caught on a recording of emergency radio traffic, police are repeatedly heard reporting: “Officer down” and “deputy down” as officers swarmed the area searching for and ultimately confronting the gunman. He said police profile black men, not just in Baton Rouge. He urged law enforcement authorities and others to “speak up” about the need for gun control.
Joycelyn, who lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana, described her younger brother as a ‘wonderful person’.
“It’s insane. I understand some people feel like enough is enough with, you know, the black community being shot”, said Gardner, an African-American.
In online posts, a man using an alias of Long’s said protests alone do not work, and that people must fight back after the deaths of black men at the hands of police. “He didn’t want any hatred going on, especially killing, you know”. Jackson wrote of the tensions in a Facebook post the day after the ambush in Dallas, he wrote that he was exhausted both physically and emotionally.
“A lot of people never thought it would happen down here”.
Sunday’s shootings occurred about a mile from the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters, where dozens of people were arrested this month while protesting Sterling’s death.
Gerald had been serving for less than a year and, like Jackson, was assigned to the uniform patrol bureau, according to the department.
“I swear to God I love this city”, he wrote, “but I wonder if this city loves me”. When he’s out of uniform, he said, some people consider him a threat.
He ends his post saying: “These are trying times”.
“Please don’t let hate infect your heart”, Jackson said, in a line that Lynch quoted.
Asked what can others do to help, they said, “Stand together and pray”.
The gunman was identified as Gavin Long of Kansas City, who turned 29 Sunday.
Lonnie Jordan, Jackson’s father-in-law, said he was also at church when he learned about his death when he received a text message. Three of the officers were fatally shot and three have been wounded, with one officer suffering from critical injuries.
According to the Pentagon, Long served in the Marines from 2005 until 2010, achieving the rank of sergeant. He signed up for the service in Kansas City and deployed to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009.
Long left behind an extensive online record, including multiple videos on both YouTube and his Twitter account.
Tensions have been high between member of the Baton Rouge community and law enforcement since Alton Sterling was shot and killed by police July 5.
“This is an unspeakable and unjustified attack on all of us at a time when we need unity and healing”, Edwards said Sunday in the hours after the Baton Rouge shooting.
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President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shootings and will be updated throughout the day, the White House said.
