South Jersey Officials, Police Show Support for Dallas Police Department in Aftermath of Shootings

Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson called Dallas Police Chief David Brown a “friend and a colleague” in the aftermath of Thursday night’s shooting in Dallas that left five police officers dead and seven others wounded.

“I have connected with him to extend our thoughts and prayers for the tragic loss of his officers and their families,” Thomson said Friday morning. “The sacrifice and heroism displayed by the Dallas police officers was extremely remarkable as they rushed towards hell bent sociopaths that were firing assault rifles on the downtown city streets. Although this is the deadliest incident in American policing since 9/11, their courage and grace under fire saved many, many lives of both civilian and sworn officers. Our officers will wear mourning bands over our shields in honor of DPD.”

Members of the Gloucester Township Police Department are also wearing mourning bands to honor the fallen officers of the Dallas PD and DART.

It also serves as a “symbol that we share in the grief of Dallas area law enforcement community and support police officers throughout our entire country,” police said Friday morning. “Please keep the fallen and wounded officers and their families in your thoughts and prayers.”

Other police departments announced they would wear mourning bands, changed their Facebook profile photos and showed their support in other ways on Friday.

Cinnaminson Township's thoughts were also with the Dallas Police Department.

Thursday's shootings capped a day in which the country's troubled race relations were laid bare. Many Americans awoke Thursday morning to news programs that showed video of a black man taking his last breaths, dying after being shot by police in Minnesota during a traffic stop.

Many headed to bed Thursday night after watching the Dallas officers gunned down during a Black Lives Matter protest of that Minnesota killing and another at the hands of police Tuesday in Louisiana.