Lt. Governor Dan Patrick why there鈥檚 a need to improve positive relations between police officers and the public.
There was an of a Houston deputy last week. Two days later: an off duty officer in Abilene was . It was ruled a homicide. The next day, a responding to a distress call. On walls in Houston there is ; on one side, the head of a police officer. On the other, a gun pointed at it.
Police and officials from New York to Houston have linked the death of Houston Deputy, Darren Goforth, to the protest movement focused on how police use lethal force against African-American citizens.
The County Sheriff of Milwaukee calls these recent events a 鈥渨ar on police.鈥� And the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, agrees.
Patrick has 鈥� and a 鈥� calling these events a 鈥渕orbid reality鈥� for law enforcement officers.
鈥淭hese are troubling times,鈥� he tells Texas Standard. 鈥淲hen you see that type of graffiti 鈥� when you see and hear the verbal attacks on the internet, on 24-hour cable news, that are vicious verbal attacks followed up by murderous attacks on police 鈥� we are at a very troubled time in our country.鈥�
Patrick says there needs to be more positive mentions of police officers in the news and blames some media outlets for pitting sides of the story against each other.
鈥淵our type of interview has to stop,鈥� Patrick says. 鈥淨uit focusing on the small percentage of those in law enforcement who have made a mistake or have broken the law themselves.鈥�
Listen to the Texas Standard interview:
