There's no question you feel the pain,” said St. Pete Police Department Assistant Chief Jim Previtera.
This is a day he left his personal cell in his SUV-- so many overwhelming calls and texts from family and friends.
"There's a real sense of I guess for the families fear,” said Assistant Chief Previtera.
This is a day the officer who usually jokes around with Previtera only greeted him with a dry 'hello' instead.
“In the back of your mind there's a question of whether or not there's an ongoing threat you know. Is this an isolated incident? What can Dallas tell us?” he said.
This is a day fear creeps in.
“There's a difference between being alert and being paranoid,” said Previtera.
This is a day Sgt. Heyward usually has off but we found him in his cruiser on-duty to listen to concerns from other officers.
“It could have happened here because we are having protest hear about a year ago,” he explained.
This is a day where sick feelings in the stomach are hard to get rid of.
“We feel the pain. Every one of us realize is that it was the Dallas Police Department that suffers but that it was really directed at lawn force meant in general,” said Previtera.
This is a day law enforcement really needs to hear someone say 'thank you' for doing the job you do.
“You just hope that this country wakes up and realizes that we are stronger when we're not fighting each other,” said the Assistant Chief.
