I've always heard a person is known by the company they keep.
If they didn't want the New Black Panther Party there they wouldn't be there, imo. They have come to other protests before so this isn't the first time. They usually show up in full gear with semi-automatic rifles with a bullet strap loaded with bullets across their chest.
With trouble known to erupt right out of the blue without warning and going from peaceful to violent in the recent days I would feel a lot more comfort to see LE in my area in full riot gear and the armored vehicles have never bothered me either. Thank goodness though no one is protesting in our city/county or anywhere close.
I wish some of the Dallas police officers had all been wearing their full riot gear including their protective helmets and maybe if they had had an armored vehicle standing by that night they could have closed in on the mass murderer much sooner using the armored vehicle as protection.
We saw where in the Orlando mass shooting a police helmet is what saved an officer's life when the bullet buried itself in the helmet instead of his skull/brain. If they had been protected like they all should have been then maybe some of the innocent police officers' lives could have been saved in Dallas as well.
At this tense time I believe all police protecting the protestors should all do whatever is necessary to protect themselves from being assaulted or worse. We owe it to our officers to give them the best equipment they need to keep them safe as possible in these very dangerous times they are all facing...............not take that life saving equipment away from them.
I read that one of the officers' that was struck by a rock thrown over one of the overpasses by one of the protestors was critically injured when the rock did major damage to his spine. Just that one uncalled for and senseless act of violence could end the police officer's career.
Imo, the police now never know from minute to minute if a protest is going to remain peaceful or erupt into more violence.
My heart goes out to all of them. I don't know how they keep their wits about them when they know they can become targets at anytime. Already we have police officers who have been shot in several states and some even have died since the Dallas massacre just this past Thursday night.
All cops are living in very dangerous times now and even those who aren't cops but are of a particular race are also living in dangerous times. A 44 year old totally innocent white woman was murdered in TN because she happened to be white.
Other than the ones protesting and the police who are protecting them I would try to avoid those areas completely if I lived in any of these areas.
How can they block major highways? How is that legal when ambulances/fire/police and emergency responders need those highways open in case of emergencies which are always happening?