‘Be vigilant’: Local law enforcement reaction to Dallas shootings

The responses of Beaufort County law enforcement agencies reached Friday to the ambush that killed five officers in Dallas on Thursday:

“We sent out a mass email to all of our troops today just encouraging them to be vigilant and be extremely careful and to be very patient in dealing with the general public. In light of what happened at Dallas, all of our men and women are very aware of it. They’re very conscious of the dangers on a day-to-day basis. We just want to reach out and thank them for what they do and for them to be safe and not take any chances.”

— Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner (Two of Tanner’s deputies were killed in an ambush after responding to a domestic violence call in Burton in 2002)

“We constantly remind our officers to be careful and follow officer safety protocols. This is an unfortunate and sad reminder of why we do that. We have our policies and procedures and expectations of how officers interact with the public. That doesn’t change because of a particular incident. The same conduct is expected every day and every shift.”

— Beaufort Police Chief Matt Clancy

“We’ve touched base (with our officers), and I gave them a little warning this morning to stay vigilant and keep your eyes open. That’s all we can do. It’s just a sad, tragic situation with everything going on.”

— Port Royal Police Chief Alan Beach

“We always remain vigilant, and we encourage our citizens to if they see something, say something regarding suspicious activity. Obviously law enforcement is on heightened alert because of these type incidents. We’ll continue to serve and protect all of our citizens equally.”

— Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Bob Bromage

This story was originally published July 8, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "‘Be vigilant’: Local law enforcement reaction to Dallas shootings."