Dead cop was conflicted about job
Days before he was gunned down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by an ex-Marine, veteran police officer Montrell Jackson shared his emotional fatigue at serving in a city he feared was falling out of love with law enforcement.
Mr Jackson, 32, died on Sunday along with two colleagues when the decorated former Marine sergeant opened fire on them, nearly two weeks after police in Louisiana's capital shot and killed a black man.
That earlier shooting triggered nationwide protests, including one in Dallas where five officers were shot dead, and left Mr Jackson, who had served the force in Baton Rouge for 10 years and whose partner recently gave birth, psychologically scarred.
"These last three days have tested me to the core," Mr Jackson wrote on his Facebook page, in an entry posted the day after the Dallas shootings and just over a week before he was killed.
"I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me. In uniform, I get nasty hateful looks, and out of uniform some consider me a threat."
He described himself as "tired physically and emotionally," adding: "These are trying times. Please don't let hate infect your heart."
Also among the dead officers was Mr Matthew Gerald, 41, a rookie with a military background, the police department said on Facebook.
The third officer killed was Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola, 45, a father of four, local media reported, citing Sheriff Sid Gautreaux and Mr Garafola's wife Tonja.
A fourth policeman, aged 41, was fighting for his life yesterday, Mr Gautreaux said, one of six in all shot by the attacker who has been identified as decorated ex-US Marine sergeant Gavin Long of Kansas City, Missouri.
Long, who was believed to have acted alone, was himself shot to death in a gunfight with police. Both he and Mr Jackson were black.
- Reuters.
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