Community offers support for local police in wake of Dallas shootings 

Lieutenant Ty Lewis of the Paso Robles Police Department

North County upholds their police force

-In wake of the horrible murders of five Dallas policemen that happened on July 8, Paso Robles Police Lieutenant Ty Lewis says the local police department has witnessed an outpouring of support from the people of Paso Robles.

Across the country mixed emotions, feelings and actions regarding relations between police and the communities they serve have reached a boiling point. Suspicions, anger, and negative reactions have emerged causing fear and confusion among both sides, police and people, sometimes turning them against each other. The shooting of the five innocent police officers in Dallas has caused a division in many cities between police trying to do their duties and people trying to live normal lives. A mistrust has developed between the two opposing forces, forces many say should not be opposed at all but should be united working together to find common ground to solve the racial issues that seem to be on the rise.

Lewis has found that the community, though shook up by the devastation in Dallas, has come together to support the Paso Robles Police Department. Shunning detachment between the people and the force, he believes Paso Robles is one community that has been made stronger.

“We’ve experienced a lot of the same emotions the rest of the community does,” says Lewis. “It’s been a very tough week seeing the funerals on television. There’s a lot of raw emotion. It hits home. Mothers, fathers, children, families. We all have them.”

A note of concern for the Paso Robles Police Department

Lieutenant Lewis emphasized that though the calamity in Dallas could be indicative of human nature anywhere in the world, he believes that “Paso Robles is a community that works well because of diversity, and the police officers work hard to integrate themselves into the hearts of the people. There are a lot of dialogues and topics that are going on in the world and they transcend a lot of the things we’ve seen in the past,” he said.

Lewis has stressed to Paso Robles police units that it is important to become a deeper part of the community and not disengage from it; he has suggested they partake in community action as much as possible, and they do. “I praise this community every chance I get,” he said. As a result, when the tragic murdering of five virtuous Dallas policemen happened, the outpouring of support from the Paso Robles community deluged the police department.

Lewis smiled when he spoke of the appreciation and thanks the community flooded the department with. “They brought us cakes, cookies, baskets of fruit, cards, drawings, sent emails, called us on the phone, and brought us doughnuts. Lots of doughnuts!” he said, laughing.  “Yesterday someone brought another large box of doughnuts, and they’re gone already.”

Lewis said the force is extremely grateful that the population of Paso Robles has come out in droves to make certain they understand how appreciative they are of their police department and of police dedication to serve and protect. He wants the people to understand that the police feel the same way about the community. “We take our work very seriously. We are a reflection of our community. We demand the best of ourselves and so does our community. Since the shootings, you know, in Dallas, the swath of the community has been super, super supportive of us. It means a lot to the police officers to know their community loves them and appreciates what they do.”

When asked if he remembered the very first person that brought something to show appreciation shortly after the Dallas shootings, he smiled and said, “Yes! I remember very well. It was two little boys and their mother.”

Lieutenant Ty Lewis has been a police officer for 20 years and has served the Paso Robles Police Department as Lieutenant for nearly 10 years.

Share To Social Media

Comments