San Diego Police, Sheriff Join 'Unity Gathering for Peace'

San Diego, CA — A "Unity Gathering for Peace" was held Monday at Balboa Park in the wake of recent deadly attacks on police officers and sheriff's deputies in Baton Rouge, Dallas and across the U.S.

San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore were joined by elected officials, clergy and community leaders in the gathering that began at noon at the main fountain.

On Sunday, gunman Gavin Long shot and killed three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where a 37-year-old black man, Alton Sterling, was fatally shot July 5 by two police officers.

The deaths of Sterling and another black man who died at the hands of police near St. Paul, Minnesota, Philando Castile, have sparked protests — as well as calls for peace — in cities across the country.

On July 7, five Dallas officers were slain by gunman Micah Johnson, who reportedly was enraged by the killings of Sterling, Castile and other black men.