Peekskill Mayor Directs Police Chief to Send Officers to Dallas
An ambush at a rally in Dallas Thursday night where five police officers were killed and seven others were wounded hit a sympathetic nerve nationwide, including in the City of Peekskill.
Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina responded to the deadliest bloodshed of U.S. law enforcement personnel since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by ordering flags on all city buildings and properties lowered for one week of mourning or until the last police officer victim is buried.
Catalina also penned a letter of support to the mayor of Dallas, instructed a mourning bunting be erected over the Peekskill Police Department and directed Police Chief Eric Johansen to ensure Peekskill Police color guard had a physical presence at memorial services in Texas.
“The events of the past 96 hours have been horrifying and sobering,” Catalina posted on Facebook. “First, our thoughts and prayers are with families of the Dallas police officers murdered as well as the families of those killed as a result of negligent or improper police practices. With that said, those who seek to parlay the actions of two, three or even 20 individual police officers into an indictment and condemnation of the 750,000+ police officers across this country deserve our stinging rebuke. An outright ambush on any law enforcement officers simply because of their uniforms, by anyone, is tantamount to an attack on our civilized society. We are the greatest nation on earth because we are a nation of laws and our law enforcers.”
“I have communicated our condolences to the families of the victims and our availability for whatever support the City of Dallas needs, to their great Mayor, directly by letter,” Catalina added. “While we are outraged at this attack, we are proud to stand in support of our law enforcement community, especially our Peekskill Police Department. May God bless all of our Police, Fire and emergency first responders who put their lives on the line EVERY day to protect ours.”
The Peekskill Police Department also expressed its sentiments on Facebook, and said city officers would be wearing mourning bands.
“The men and women of the City of Peekskill Police Department stand in solidarity with the brave members of the Dallas Police Department and share in their grief as we mourn those who lost their life protecting and serving the City of Dallas,” the department stated.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/