BURLINGTON — Police Chief Brandon del Pozo says his department will suspend solo officer patrols in the wake of an ambush-style attack on police in Dallas, Texas, Thursday night.
“In the wake of the premeditated murder of numerous Dallas police officers by one or more snipers, the Burlington Police Department is suspending solo officer patrols until the prospect of copycat attacks on other police officers diminishes,” del Pozo said in a statement issued early Friday morning.
Five law enforcement officers were killed and seven injured at an otherwise peaceful protest in downtown Dallas over the killing of two black men by police earlier this week in Louisiana and Minnesota, according to the Dallas Morning News. Two civilians were also injured in the shooting.
Elected officials and community leaders in Vermont reacted with horror and sadness to a week of violence across the U.S. and called for unity and understanding in the wake of the tragic killings.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said snipers opened fire at the protest from an elevated position at roughly 9 p.m. ambushing police, some of whom were shot in the back.
After a shootout, police killed one of the gunman by using a robot to detonate a bomb where he had holed up in a parking garage. Three other suspects are in custody, according to the Morning News.
“America is protected by a patchwork of 18,000 police agencies, and a repeat incident in one of them is not unfathomable,” del Pozo said.
Del Pozo said the double patrols could delay police response to “noncritical incidents,” and he thanked residents in advance for accepting somewhat slower response times to less important calls for “a modicum of peace of mind for your police officers.”
“Burlington police are friends, neighbors and Vermonters,” Del Pozo said. “Their work conditions are adjusted as the hazards they face change, as in any profession. Double patrols are safer for officers and are in fact the standard in many urban agencies.”
The Champlain Area NAACP is planning a protest and prayer vigil Saturday on Church Street in downtown Burlington to mourn the loss of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. Both killings were captured on video circulated widely on social media.
“We definitely hope to have a nonviolent protest, we are against violence of any type,” said Mary Brown-Guillory, president of the Champlain Area NAACP.
“Our prayers and our hearts go out to Dallas, but they also go out to the whole world fighting for justice and fair policing and patience and understanding,” Brown-Guillory said.
“We’re gathering to support one another because people are feeling, well they’re dismayed, and we need to come together to pray. We need to let the world know that we want police brutality to end, and we also want gun violence to end,” she added.
At Saturday’s event, she said protesters will call on Vermont lawmakers and Congress to take action on gun control, and she said she hopes it will also be an opportunity for cultural exchange and mutual understanding.
She sees this week’s events and the mounting racial tension in the U.S. as a “test for humanity,” Brown-Guillory said, and an opportunity “to see if we can unite as human beings to address our concerns.”
Brown-Guillory said she had tried reaching out to Burlington police to discuss plans for the event Saturday but was unable to reach Chief del Pozo. Del Pozo did not return a call Friday morning from VTDigger seeking comment or a message for residents about the protest vigil.
Gov. Peter Shumlin ordered flags to fly at half staff to honor the police officers killed in the Dallas shooting. In a statement, Shumlin said he was horrified by the violent acts, and said his heart goes out to the officers killed in the line of duty.
The governor called for unity in the face of tragic violence, which has shaken Vermont and the nation. Shumlin said the events of this week are “linked to racial and religious divides that herald back to our turbulent civil rights movement.”
“There will be time for political and legal debate about the horrific murders of police officers in Dallas, as well as the tragedies in Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and other parts of our nation,” Shumlin said.
“But at this moment, my appeal is for unity in the face of division and violence,” Shumlin said. “It is my sincere hope that rather than further divide us, these tragic events unify our nation in a quest for understanding and acceptance.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement that “violence is never the answer.”
“This was a heinous and cowardly attack, and we join Americans across the country in support of the Dallas law enforcement community,” Leahy said. “It has been a particularly painful week of our country. There is so much anger, frustration and grief and we must find ways to heal and rebuild trust after such unnecessary loss of life. Violence is never the answer.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also reacted to the shooting, posting a statement about it on both his Senate and presidential campaign Twitter accounts.
The attack on police officers in Dallas last night is horrifying and despicable. We must as a nation stand against violence of all kinds.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 8, 2016
The Vermont Department of Public Service and Vermont State Police issued a statement Friday morning condemning the sniper shootings. Commissioner Keith Flynn and Col. Matthew Birmingham said the Dallas killings highlight “the sacrifices that law enforcement officers make every day across the country.”
“The Vermont State Police will continue to remain vigilant and assess any threat that would jeopardize the safety of our troopers or the communities we serve,” Flynn and Birmingham said. “Our members are among the most highly trained and dedicated law enforcement officers in the nation and will continue to serve all Vermonters with the highest standards of professionalism and respect.”
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, in statements Thursday and Friday, expressed sadness for those killed this week by police and the police who were targeted and killed in Dallas.
“Tragedies like those that have occurred over the past three days tear at the fabric of our society. We must rededicate ourselves to the work of uniting all Americans,” he said.
“We must continue to strengthen the trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve and unite against violence.”
Other groups around the state reacted to the news of the Dallas shooting. Justice for All, a racial justice organization based in Vermont, issued a statement urging reforms to policing and the criminal justice system in Vermont.
“These latest manifestations of the racial disparities in our criminal justice system have left the nation with a sense of hopelessness and outrage resulting in the heinous attack on Dallas Police,” the press release stated.
Central Vermont Showing Up For Racial Justice plans to hold a rally for Sterling and Castile in downtown Montpelier on Saturday.
Montpelier Police Chief Tony Facos said Friday that he had not yet been contacted about the rally but that the department will police it the same way they monitor other rallies.
Facos said that there are no plans to alter operating procedures following the events in Dallas. He said that the events of recent days resonates across the country, and indicates the importance of the relationship between police and a community.
“It certainly impacts us,” Facos said. “It impacts every police officer in the country to varying degrees.”
Elizabeth Hewitt contributed to this report.
