Banded through a badge

In this May 17, 2011, file photo, then Sheriff Greg White talks to news reporters at the Cole County Jail.
In this May 17, 2011, file photo, then Sheriff Greg White talks to news reporters at the Cole County Jail.

The loss of five police officers in a shooting Thursday night in Dallas is a tragedy law officers everywhere take deeply personal, local lawmen said Friday.

"Although most in our country don't realize that an officer dies in the line of duty about every three or four days, the violent loss of these dedicated officers strikes at the emotions of all of us," said Jefferson City Police Chief Roger Schroeder. "We are all hurting in our own way. It's impossible to describe the sense of oneness in the law enforcement community. We depend on one another to live, and we will all be there in spirit when one of us dies.

"One thing I can promise," he said. "We will channel that emotion to a new and stronger commitment to serve and protect our community. Police officers understand and accept the daily vulnerability under which they must fulfill their duties. Officers understand that when they leave their homes and say, 'good-bye,' to those they love, the true nature and degree of finality of that expression is unknown."

Cole County Sheriff Greg White said his department was overwhelmed with calls of appreciation and well wishes from citizens after the shooting.

"The only way I see things changing is if Americans have a change of heart," he said. "We have to get back to being able to have civil discourse to discuss issues."

"Police officers represent the thin blue line between anarchy and our beloved democracy, founded under the rule of law," Schroeder said. "We will never shirk our duties, nor will we allow our communities to be terrorized by the lawless. When all else seems to be failing, one undeniable truth remains. There will be law enforcement officers coming to the aid those in their most dire need. It matters not the time of day, the weather conditions, nor the nature of the emergency. Just as we all saw in Dallas, as hundreds of citizens were observed running from the deadly scene of gunfire, we saw police officers running in the opposite direction, seeking the source of the gunfire. That will not change, under any circumstance."

Mark Edwards, president of the Jefferson City Police Officers Association, said tragedies like in Dallas reinforce the belief all law officers are brothers and sisters no matter where they serve.

"We are close knit as law officers," he said. "The fact that they are going through something like this, we're going through the same thing. We realize we are lucky because we have a good backing from our community. That's because of the officers working the streets, forming that good working relationship with our citizens."

White, who has been in law enforcement for several years and whose father was a warden in the Missouri prison system, said he has seen protests and disturbances in the past but nothing like what has been occurring in the country the past few years.

He said he had been following the Dallas situation since it began late Thursday night and made sure to tell members of his department they needed to continue to uphold what they promised when they took their oaths as law officers and uphold the Constitution.

"We see that terrorists and criminals come from all backgrounds and economic statuses," White said. "In the end, bad behavior is bad behavior. Until people stop allowing this type of behavior to occur, it will continue to happen."

White and members of his department are wearing mourning bands on their badges, and Schroeder issued a special order directing a mourning band displayed on their shields until midnight on the day of the final burial of the Dallas officers.

"I have sent a personal message to the personnel of JCPD, thanking them for their service and offering other professional thoughts," he said. "On behalf of the men and women of the Jefferson City Police Department, I extend a very special thank you to those who brought cards, food, flowers and personal messages of support. It means more than one will ever know. As I remind our personnel, the good people in our extraordinary community dwarf those who hold ill will. Thank you."