Police chiefs around the country began ordering patrol officers to ride in pairs Friday, rather than alone as many routinely do, as a safety precaution after officers were ambushed and killed in Dallas while protecting a protest march.
Officers in Washington, Boston, New York City, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Los Angeles County, among other places, were instructed to find partners, their departments said. Terry Cunningham, the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and chief of the Wellesley, Mass., police, said street officers “really are going to have to have vigilance. Any traffic stop, at any time, can be deadly. I don’t know what this means. I don’t know if this means more violence perpetrated toward law enforcement as a result of this.”
In Washington, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said she gave the order to partner up at about midnight, hours after the attack in Dallas killed five officers and wounded seven others. But, she said, “Looking at the type of attack that happened in Dallas, a two-man car, a four-man car, a 10-man car, isn’t going to make much of a difference. But it makes the officers feel much safer.”
Sgt. Matthew Mahl, president of the D.C. police union, called the orders prudent after what he called “a pretty sad day in law enforcement.” He said officers in Dallas were “protecting a peaceful protest when a group of people decided to take action into their own hands and slaughter five officers.”
Police commanders nationwide began pondering Friday not only the significance of the tragedy, but whether they need to reconsider how they do their jobs in a more highly charged environment when viral video and angry rhetoric can quickly ignite anti-police sentiment.
Cunningham of the IACP said, “This one is very, very difficult, trying to put this into perspective. What does it mean for the country, for Dallas?. . . These last 18 to 24 months have been really dark times for law enforcement. Today’s a day for us to grieve for the officers in Dallas. Tomorrow’s the time to start thinking about solutions and ways to heal and ways to move forward.”
Tom Manger, head of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and chief of the Montgomery County, Md., police, said, “Since Ferguson, it seems like the media, in general, it feels like we’ve been under siege. If a bad shooting happens, there is sweeping condemnation by pundits of all police. I think that cops are demoralized. I know there’s people who don’t like the police. But the vast majority of people do appreciate what we do. I try to remind my cops, people do appreciate what you do. Few people have the heart and courage to do the job you do.”
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