MIAMI – South Florida police officers wore mourning bands across their police badges Friday in honor of the police officers killed and injured in Dallas.
Local 10 News reporter Erica Rakow spotted two Miami police officers with their badges covered with the bands working the detail at Versailles restaurant in Little Havana, were presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was expected to speak.
Trump canceled his Miami trip after the Dallas shooting that killed five officers and injured seven. Two civilians were also injured.
"Our nation has become too divided. Too many Americans feel like they've lost hope. Crime is harming too many citizens. Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isn't the American Dream we all want for our children," Trump said in a statement. "This is a time, perhaps more than ever, for strong leadership, love and compassion. We will pull through these tragedies."
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said a sniper were responsible for the shooting. He said three people were questioned and a fourth, who exchanged gunfire with authorities in a parking garage, was killed by explosives.
"Our officers are our neighbors. They're part of our community, and so, it's not us against them. They are us and we are them," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said. "Without them, we will have anarchy. And without them we lose our freedom."
The president of the Police Benevolent Association of Miami-Dade County told Local 10 News that the Dallas shooting will affect our community in different ways.
"People are not going to want to enter the field of police work if they see that the risks are high, the pay is low and the support is non-existent," John Rivera said.
Brown said at a news conference Friday that the man, identified as Micah Johnson, 25, who engaged in an hours-long standoff with police before being killed claimed that he acted alone and was unaffiliated with any group.
Brown said Johnson was upset about recent police-involved shootings and wanted to kill white people, particularly white officers.
"We always have to be composed (and) professional with the highest level of integrity, and at the same time we have to be cautious about our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said. "We have to maintain a certain level of security and we have to be safe."
Defense officials confirmed that Johnson served as an Army Reservist until April 2015.