Boise Police Chief William Bones says there was a palpable sense of heartache at BPD headquarters Friday morning after the shooting Thursday night in Dallas that killed five police officers. We spoke with Bones Friday after he completed a previously-scheduled bike patrol.
Bones says the Dallas shooting has made him more grateful for the relatively positive relationship his officers have with their community.
“I have received all morning long phone calls, texts, emails of support,” Bones says. “Riding down the Greenbelt this morning people saying thank you. Essentially expressing how much they care for what police officers in this valley do. I really think it will be a rallying call to many many people in the U.S. to support their police officers in their local communities.”
Bones says the events in Dallas add to a heightened level of stress his department has been feeling since a Boise officer was shot on duty June 28.
“We came so close to losing an officer last week,” Bones says. “It’s a miracle that officer McCarthy is still with us and we’re deeply thankful for that. And then you get rocked back on your heels again seeing something that went the other way, when the officers lost their lives.”
Bones says at times like this, police officers take a hard look at their lives and reassess their career choice. But he says the conclusion Boise officers usually come up with, is ‘someone has to protect their community’ and they choose to stay on the job.
Bones says he’s encouraging his officers to lean on each other while on duty and to find positive ways to relieve their stress when they get off duty.
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