Columbia Police Chief Jerry Paul

Waterloo Police Chief Jim Trantham

Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing

Law enforcement agencies across the region and entire country are on high alert following what can only be described as a terrifying past week for all Americans.

But through these trying times, local police departments have learned just how valuable they are to the communities they serve.

Late Thursday evening in downtown Dallas, five police officers were killed and seven others were wounded following a sniper-style shooting while hundreds were gathered to protest the recent killings of black men by police in Baton Rouge, La., and St. Paul, Minn.

The Dallas shooter then exchanged gunfire with police in a parking garage before being killed early Friday morning by a robot-delivered bomb.

Much closer to home, a Ballwin, Mo. police officer remains in critical condition after he was shot in the neck during a traffic stop late Friday morning. The officer had stopped the car for speeding on northbound New Ballwin Road about 11 a.m., media reports indicate. As the officer went back to his car, the driver got out and fired three shots at the officer. The gunman was eventually captured in Manchester, Mo.

Other incidents of attacks on police are being reported around the country with seemingly more frequency as a rift grows over race and policing in America.

Police leaders in Monroe County expressed their condolences for the recent law enforcement deaths in Dallas…>>>

Read the rest of this story in the July 13 issue of the Republic-Times. If you don’t already receive the paper, you can subscribe by calling 939-3814 or clicking here, or pick up a copy at any of these locations.