East Texans Honor Slain Officers

EAST TEXAS — Gregg County elected officials and law enforcement officers gathered alongside residents at the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center event hoping to make sense of the tragedy and offering prayers and calls for unity as they remembered the five officers killed and the nine others others wounded, KETK reports. “I can tell you that pain and hurt does not stop at the Dallas city limits,” Longview Mayor Andy Mack said during the service. “In Longview alone, there are 170 sworn officers who feel the weight of that burden, who feel the weight of that hurt and whose families feel fear and anxiety knowing the potential danger each day.”

In Longview, the convention center’s main room was filled with hundreds of people and surrounded by flags. Outside, officers waited to fire a 21-gun salute. Memorial books for the slain Dallas officers were placed at the back, allowing residents to express their sympathies to grieving families. Mack thanked police for their service and their dedication, noting how police in Dallas rushed to keep residents safe even in the face of a clear threat. He called for an end to the divisiveness between police and the people they are sworn to protect. “Let us resolve to honor the lives of those lost,” he said. “Let us resolve to do our part to end divisiveness. Let’s work towards unity. Let’s work towards safe communities. ”

Waking up the day after the shootings, Kilgore police Chief Todd Hunter said he believes it was the worst day of his 24 years in law enforcement. “Although 9/11 had been awful, I knew that public safety officials had not been specifically targeted on that terrible day,” Hunter said. “Unfortunately, I expect forces outside our great nation to attack us, but I could not wrap my head around the fact that this act in Dallas was a domestic act of terrorism specifically aimed at police, my brothers, my sisters.” Hunter called for people to seek facts before rushing to judgment about the situations between police and civilians reported on social media sites and by news outlets. “There are forces among us that would love to divide this great nation, and we must stand against them,” he said.

Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt asked the law enforcement officers gathered Tuesday not to give up in the face of hate. “Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the public support our law enforcement,” he said. “But do not be deterred by that less than 1 percent. Our country is hurting right now. It’s up to all of us to make sure that love prevails over hate and peace triumphs over violence.”

In Gilmer, more than 250 people gathered at the Upshur County Courthouse to remember the fallen officers. Neesha Taylor, an Upshur County jailer whose husband is a state trooper, began organizing the event Saturday. “I just wanted us to come together as a community to let them know that we acknowledge and appreciate them,” Taylor said of law enforcement officers and first responders.