By Alexandra Mendoza 
Members of law enforcement agencies, religious leaders, grassroots organizations, mayors, and San Diego County elected officials called for peace and unity a day after three police officers were killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
At a gathering in Balboa Park, they showed their support for the county’s law enforcement agencies during this time of grieving after the incident in Louisiana and the previous attacks in Texas, where a sniper gunned down five officers.
“There is no doubt that our nation is hurting, the recent string of unjustifiable deaths cuts all of us deeply,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “From Dallas to Baton Rouge and [other cities], this loss of innocent lives has left all of us raw.”
In light of eight officers losing their lives in the recent violence, enforcement agencies from throughout the county are asking the community for their support and solidarity, and reiterated their mission to protect and serve the community.
“Our commitment to all of you is that we will never abandon our community, and we ask that you do not abandon us”, stated San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman, adding that working together, the City wants to create a model of cooperation for the rest of the United States.
Her voice was echoed by other local law enforcement agencies, who agreed that they need to work closer together with the community.
“This is an opportunity to tell the community that we are here to protect them, to work with them, and that the safety of officers is very important for the safety of the community,” National City Police Chief Manuel Rodriguez told the crowd. “When people attack those who are there to protect the community, it is an attack on us all.”
Christian Ramirez, Human Rights Director at Alliance San Diego, stressed that in order to achieve reconciliation between the police and the community, you “have to speak the truth” and look for policy initiatives to put an end to racial profiling issues. “Regrettably, it has been field officers who have had to pay with their lives for a problem that should have been address at state and federal congresses,” he said.
As an initial step, he applauded that California has taken action with the passing of a law aimed at eradicating this issue by requiring law enforcement agencies to collect profile information on every arrest in order to address concerns about racial profiling.
Mr. Ramirez expressed that the violence we are seeing against police officers throughout the country are the result of a lack of will and discussion amidst a “visible tension” between enforcement agencies and communities of color in the U.S. “All of this creates a feeling of despair that has led at least two individuals to act in a way that is unjustifiable, but that speaks of the urgent need in the United States not only for discussion, but for working toward finding solutions,” he added. “I think this is an important step. Now we expect authorities to make a real commitment to ensuring that we look for concrete solutions. And part of that is putting an end to racial profiling in our state.”