San Jose

San Jose Police React to Slain NYPD Officers

San Jose police said the shooting in New York is a sobering reminder of the dangers they face every day on the job, and they are reacting with a sign of solidarity.

The San Jose Police Officers Association (POA) said they will work with SJPD to immediately send officers to New York to offer support, as the city remembers slain police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu

Police officers in the Bay Area said they too have heavy hearts.

"San Jose police officers are sick about the tragedy that happened to New York's finest," said San Jose Police Sgt. Paul Kelly, who is also president-elect of the POA.

The tragedy is shining a spotlight on the risks officers take every day on the streets of San Jose.

"Today and yesterday, knowing this tragedy happened, they will still put on uniforms and go out there and protect, making that choice," Kelly said.

In New York City, grief has come with a lot of fingerpointing.

"There's blood on many hands tonight," Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch said. "Those that incited violence on the street under the guise of protest that tried to tear down what New York City police officers did every day. We tried to warn it must not go on. It cannot be tolerated."

Santa Clara University counseling psychology professor Dr. Dale Larson said some grief-stricken police may be reacting to feeling under siege.

"It seems escalatory, but understandable given the terrible situation with so much anger present everywhere and some lone wolves like this floating around," Larson said.

Now officers across the nation must grapple with how this brazen killing could affect their own safety and relationships with communities they are asked to police. Some people are still very active in voicing their opposition to police tactics and how officers are held to the law.

The POA said even in San Jose, officers have been ambushed. It is not a common occurrence, but it is a very real possibility.

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