Local police voice support for slain officers

Cape Girardeau County law-enforcement leaders said their profession is under attack, but there are few additional protections available for officers on patrol.

Five Dallas police officers were shot and killed by at least one sniper Thursday during what was a peaceful protest against police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. The sniper told officers during negotiations he was targeting police, according to news reports.

Wes Blair

Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair called Dallas his hometown in a Facebook post, and he knows Dallas police chief David Brown.

“Throughout the night and today, my heart has been breaking for him and his officers, and I have been on the verge of tears multiple times,” Blair wrote. “Just like you, all of us at Cape PD are shocked, angered and stunned at this senseless act of violence perpetrated against the very men and women who have taken an oath to protect our families. It is a difficult time for anyone who is in law enforcement. An attack on one of us is on us all and we hurt when our brothers and sisters hurt.”

Cape Girardeau Police Department public information officer Richard McCall said there have not been any directives to provide more protection for officers. Cape Girardeau does not have the manpower to have two officers per every patrol car, which was mandated in St. Louis.

The only change at the Cape Girardeau police station were boxes of food left by local businesses such as Dunkin’ Donuts and My Daddy’s Cheesecake and letters offering support.

“It’s just another day in the life of a police officer,” McCall said. “In Cape, it seems like the bond with the community keeps getting better and better.”

McCall said there is no way to predict, however, when there might be some type of attack.

John Jordan

Sheriff John Jordan said he does not think attacks on police officers will end with the sniper shooting in Dallas. Like with Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County cannot have two deputies per patrol car. Jordan suggested his deputies need to be careful during all interactions with the public, including traffic stops.

“I have the best-equipped force in all of Southeast Missouri, but if someone is going to assassinate you, such as a sniper, there’s nothing you can do,” Jordan said. “A sniper comes from another location. If he wants to kill you, he will. ... The advice we give to our officers is always be cognizant of your surroundings.”

James Humphreys

Jackson police chief James Humphreys said policing has become a more dangerous job. He said the Jackson community always has been supportive of law enforcement, but he does not think Jackson is immune from some type of incident.

“It’s always been a dangerous job, but it’s become more dangerous because we wear the badge,” Humphreys said. “It’s dangerous to be out there because of the unknown.”

Humphreys also has asked his officers to take extra care during traffic stops and other interactions, but there has not been any other changes to everyday operations.

“Our heart breaks for them, and they’re in our prayers,” Humphreys said of Dallas. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through.”

Jordan, Humphreys and McCall said they did not want to comment on the officer’s shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, or the officer’s shooting of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, because investigations in each case are ongoing.

“I reserve any type of judgment or comment,” Jordan said. “These things have to be investigated by an outside agency.”

Cape Girardeau police will continue community policing efforts, such as neighborhood roll-call events, McCall said.

The department has emphasized community relations during Blair’s tenure, starting in 2013, and the directive has paid dividends when community members provided information in the investigation of Domorlo McCaster’s killing May 19. Cape Girardeau police arrested suspect Malcolm U. Harris, 24, of Cape Girardeau on May 27, and Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s office charged Harris with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

Felice Roberson created the Stop Needless Acts of Violence Please group last winter after her son Quinton David Combs, 24, was shot and killed in November. She said police have made progress communicating with community members to solve crimes.

Roberson did not make a differentiation between the sniper in Dallas, Sterling’ death, Castile’s death and the shootings that have occurred in Cape Girardeau over the past year. She sees a mass proliferation of violence, particularly gun violence, cutting across cultural lines.

“Everybody has guns, and everybody wants to be violent,” Roberson said. “It’s like the wild, wild west.”

Cape Girardeau National Association for Advancement of Colored People president Bill Colon said the police officers who killed Sterling and Castile cannot walk free. Colon was a police officer in Chicago.

“They have got to do something,” Colon said of the officers in the Sterling and Castile cases. “It’s almost like police are out of control.”

However, Colon said Cape Girardeau is fortunate police officers have not used excessive force in interactions with black residents. He said police interactions with black and white people in Cape Girardeau are not equal, but there is no sign of the blatant racism as with cases in other cities.

“I’ll stand up for the police; it’s not the police here in Cape,” Colon said. “That’s something we should be thankful for.”

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