Dallas shootings could happen anywhere: Calgary police chief

The head of the Calgary Police Service says he’s shocked to hear about the Dallas shootings, which left five police officers dead.

Roger Chaffin says his initial reaction to the news was shock, and calls the shootings every police officer’s worst nightmare.

“Generally speaking, this is sniper fire that they didn’t see coming, and got pinned down, particularly when they were working on a matter where they were supporting community and supporting a peaceful protest,” he stated. “To be subject to that is horrific.”

He adds, while Dallas is not close to Calgary, this shooting has an impact on police officers everywhere.

“The issues of the world are never very far away anymore. The sort of violent extremism and some of the issues that we’re experiencing are always just a matter of ‘it could have happened to us too.'”

While Thursday’s events are shocking, Chaffin says they also serve as a reminder in case something similar happened locally.

“It really sort of reinforces for us the need to rely on our relationship with community and rely, really lean heavily on our idea that our safety’s important as well when we’re out there.”

Chaffin and the rest of the Calgary police reached out to the Dallas Police Department Friday morning to express their sincerest condolences.

“I just can’t imagine what those families and those officers are going through now,” Chaffin said. “For us, we’re going back to business, and look after each other, and hopefully these become very rare events.”