Deadly Dallas shooting changing local law enforcement response
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- At a press conference Friday the mayor, police chief and the head of the police union asked the community for calm in the wake of the Dallas police attack.
The shooting is already having an impact on local law enforcement.
Douglas Griffith, the vice president of the Houston Police Officers Union, told abc13, "This kind attack is very difficult to understand and to know that we have brothers and sisters in Dallas that there families are going to be waking up with no mother, no father, it's sad."
At the HPD Union Office, the flags are lowered to half staff in honor of the fallen officers in Dallas.
Flags lowered at the Houston Officers Union following the Dallas shooting:
PHOTOS: Shots fired during downtown Dallas protest
Another change, HPD officers can now request to ride in pairs if they feel unsafe.
Griffith said, "The chief said, 'Hey, anybody that wants or feel like they need can do so, it is obviously left up to the division commanders which are captain."
One protest calling for change in the wake of recent police shootings that was scheduled for the Galleria has been cancelled because of the blood shed in Dallas.
Local Black Lives Matter Organizers say they will continue protests but say taking lives is not what the organization is about.
Ashton Woods, of Black Lives Matter Houston, said, "Black Lives Matter does not condone the shedding of blood. We are not a violent movement we are a peaceful movement. Why would be condone shedding blood when we are trying to get policies to stop shedding our blood."
Meanwhile the Harris County Sheriff's is investigating a call that came in to its dispatch center saying, "why are you killing black people...now I'm going to kill one of y'all."
We also spoke to Precinct 4 deputies who say they are also responding with 2 units to calls.
