by Michael O’Hearn and Leah Justice

Local law enforcement, pastors and community leaders have responded to the police shootings in Dallas, Texas and Baton Rouge, La. that have occurred in the last few weeks.

On July 7, Micah Xavier Johnson opened fire on police officers in Dallas with a sniper attack that killed five officers and injured nine others, according to CNN reports.

Sunday morning brought the news of three officers who were shot and killed in Baton Rouge by who authorities named as Gavin Eugene Long. Three other police officers were injured in the incident.

Rev. Mark Bishop with First Baptist Church in Landrum said he was sad to hear the news, adding the world has digressed nearly 65 to 70 years back to the times of integration in America and that he has never seen violence such as this in his 45 years of life.

“In the Scripture, Paul said we are all of one earthly tent,” Bishop explained. “Does it really matter what color the tent is? We’re living in a sad world these days filled with senseless violence. The feeling is of shock and awe as to what’s been going on and seeing our own people turning against each other.”

Bishop added he and his church would be supporting the families of the police officers who lost their lives through prayer. A community appreciation event for the Landrum Police Department is in the works, according to Bishop.

“Our response is a lot like everyone else’s, but our church will continue to pray for the nation,” Bishop said. “Locally, we might do a Sunday luncheon for our police who are either on or off duty because this community appreciates everything they do for us. I could never see myself going out there on a daily basis like they do.”

Landrum Police Chief Tim Edgens penned a letter to the citizens of Landrum in response to the Dallas sniper shooting earlier this month. The letter was shared by the City of Landrum on Facebook on July 8 and now has 150 reactions and 111 shares.

“I feel that especially now in these very troubled days, it is important to acknowledge that although we are blessed to live and work in such a wonderful community, we are not immune to any of these terrible events,” Edgens wrote. “We here at the Landrum Police Department take pride in our profession and are very thankful for a community that gives us continuous support.”

Strengthening the relationship between law enforcement and the public, in the words of Edgens, is paramount to the police chief now more than ever in his career.

“I ask that you keep all of our men and women of law enforcement and our other first responders in your thoughts and prayers,” Edgens said. “We set the bar high and continuously work to raise our standards to operate more efficiently and to provide better service.”

Columbus Police Chief Chris Beddingfield responded by saying the police department is monitoring the events of other state, federal and local law enforcement agencies. The community, Beddingfield said, has been instrumental in keeping morale high for his officers.

“We have issued several safety bulletins to the officers just to be extra observant both on and off duty,” Beddingfield explained. “We have also tried to keep our officers focused on the people who do appreciate law enforcement. People have brought in cakes, cookies and chips to boost our morale because it is very easy for morale to get low when seeing these attacks on our profession.”

Beddingfield added that his church honored emergency service members at the service Sunday and that a church in Spartanburg would be doing a service for Dallas. No churches have notified him of doing anything as of yet in Columbus.

Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill said his officers have been including more active shooter training sessions lately. Hill also said he is working with community leaders to hold a public meeting sometime in August.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Monday, July 18 and held a moment of silence called by chair Michael Gage. Gage asked for a moment of silence for all the chaos in the country right now. Gage said he is thankful to live in this county and to work with this board of commissioners during this time.

Commissioner Ray Gasperson said he can never remember a time when the country has had to fly flags at half staff so much. Gasperson thanked Gage for the moment of silence at the beginning of the meeting and said he is so grateful for the county’s law enforcement and the service they provide.

Pastor Nathan Deatrick with Cross Roads Baptist Church led commissioners in prayer on Monday and prayed for the families in Louisiana and Texas and for the families of law enforcement officers where there is no longer a father and a husband. He also prayed for law enforcement officers in Polk County.