Maine law enforcement authorities said Sunday that while the shooting attacks on police in Dallas and Baton Rouge are deeply disturbing, they don’t plan to make any significant changes to the procedures their officers use when responding to the public’s call for assistance.

Several Maine police departments went on Twitter and Facebook to post their condolences and support for the families of the officers shot Sunday morning in the Louisiana capital.

“When a police officer is killed, it’s not an agency that loses an officer … it’s an entire nation,” read the Scarborough Police Department’s new profile picture on Facebook.

“We join our brother and sister officers at Baton Rouge Police Department and all police departments. No more! Praying for families,” Portland police tweeted.

Meanwhile, a large crowd of people gathered Sunday evening at Central Park in Sanford for a vigil of hope. The candlelight vigil was organized by the Crossroads United Methodist Church after five police officers were shot dead July 7 in Dallas. Organizers said they wanted to use the vigil to show their support for the sacrifices made by Sanford police and firefighters.

Sanford Police Chief Thomas Connolly doesn’t intend to change the way his officers respond to calls.

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“What happened in Baton Rouge can’t help but affect you. It has to be in the back of every officer’s mind. While it’s very troubling, we still have to respond” to calls for help, he said. “If we have to change the way we do things, it would be disastrous for everyone.”

Connolly worked as a police officer in Prince George’s County, Maryland – a suburb of Washington, D.C. – for 25 years. The Prince George’s County agency is ranked as one of the 50 largest police departments in the nation. His experiences there taught him to be cautious and to realize that there is an inevitable element of danger in serving as an officer.

Connolly plans to send a letter this week to his officers urging them to “keep the faith, do your job and do not overreact. If you overreact, you will drive yourself crazy.”

The fatal shootings Sunday morning of three Louisiana law enforcement officers by a lone gunman come less than two weeks after the death of an African-American man at the hands of Baton Rouge police. Sunday’s attack occurred when police responded to a 911 call that a man, dressed in black and armed with what appeared to be an assault-style rifle, was walking near a shopping plaza about a mile from police headquarters.

Two city policemen and a sheriff’s deputy were fatally wounded and another sheriff’s deputy was critically injured. The gunman was killed by police during an exchange of gunfire.

“Another cowardly act in Baton Rouge. Deepest condolences and God Bless from the #ThinBlueLine in SoPoMe,” South Portland police tweeted. “It is certainly concerning and crazy times for law enforcement everywhere,” said Lt. Frank Clark of the South Portland Police Department.

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Clark said that his department is not planning any changes to the procedures officers use when responding to a service call. He said there are already safety protocols in place for certain types of calls, such as sending two officers instead of one to handle a potentially violent situation.

“As concerning as this is on a national basis, I truly believe that it is a small minority of people who don’t have our backs,” Clark said. “The vast majority of people in our community are supportive of the work we do.”

Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and a former police chief in South Portland, said the attacks on police are bound to have an impact.

“The shootings in Baton Rouge are definitely going to affect the way Maine police and officers all over the country operate,” he said Sunday night.”We’ve got to be more cautious.”

“We think that because we are in Maine not much can happen here, but anyone with a firearm anywhere can cause a big problem,” Schwartz added.

Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said there isn’t much more his department could do to make officers safer. Most deputies patrol a large rural area alone and recognize that they may have to respond to a violent situation without backup.

After the police shootings in Dallas, Joyce said he emailed his deputies, including the 40 assigned to patrol.

“I told them: ‘Be more cautious and just be on guard. Don’t let the negative aspects of what has been happening around the country impact how you do business,’ ” Joyce said.

 


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