Joliet Mayor Orders Police Officers to Double Up in Patrol Cars

Joliet, IL — Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk has ordered all Joliet police officers to double-up during patrols over the weekend.

“It is imperative that we do all we can to help protect the brave men and women working for the Joliet Police Department,” Mayor O’Dekirk said in a news release. “We also want to let our residents know that the services our police provide will not be diminished.”

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The patrols will continue throughout the weekend and will be re-evaluated next week. O'Dekirk said the move is a precautionary measure and no instances of civil unrest have been reported in the area.

The order comes after five Dallas police officers were killed by a sniper.

Three of the five law enforcement officers killed in the attack have been identified, either by law enforcement or family: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officer Brent Thompson, 43; Michael Krol, 40, a former Wayne County, Michigan Sheriff's Deputy; and Patrick Zamarripa, 32.

Officials have said that at least two snipers opened fire during the rally in Dallas to protest the killing of two black men by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Minnesota earlier this week.

“(Johnson) said he was upset at white people,” said Dallas Police Chief David Brown, who is black, at a press conference. “He said he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers.”