POST FALLS, Idaho – Members of local law enforcement say it always hits home any time an officer is killed in the line of duty.
Dallas, Texas Police officials said a sniper opened fire on a peaceful justice rally through downtown Dallas on Thursday night. The sniper targeted police officers, killing five and injuring seven people. Fourteen people total were shot. Two were civilians.
Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug says being a cop is never easy.
"We're policing in a culture that I've never experienced in my almost 30 years of doing this job," said Haug.
As a veteran lawman, Haug knows that the toll from the Dallas shootings will now play out for years to come.
"You put that on a scale of 5 officers. There's 5 families that now have to deal with this," Haug explained.
Following the officer involved shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, Haug said this is the most challenging time for law enforcement that he has ever seen. He said while Post Falls is fortunate in the strong community support for law enforcement, he knows that is not the case everywhere else across the country. Haug said change need to happen on both sides.
"We've got to do a better job in law enforcement of building relationships with the community," said Haug.
It is those relationships that can create safer communities for not only the public, but also officers too. In Haug's department, he started a "Coffee with a Cop" program that looks to do just that. He hopes small steps like that can prevent tragedies like these from ever occurring at home.
"So that people see that you're just one of them. The difference between me and you is I wear a uniform and I'm given the honor of going out and solving crimes and trying to prevent it," said Haug.
Post Falls Police are also fairly active on social media. Haug said that is another great tool in improving trust and relationships with the community.
