Fresno County sheriff hopes to ease community tensions after nationwide violence

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tensions were already high in Fresno after the Dallas sniper attacks but those feelings are heightened now after the Baton Rouge shooting.

At a time of tension over race and policing, there was a small show of support to Fresno officers. It provided comfort to those who lost three more of their own.

"That's what I'll call them, they are assassinations," Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said. "Officers they would not normally have contact with whatsoever."

The police killings took place during national conversations about police brutality.

Their accusations Mims say are not true.

In the past 5 and a half years, the department has responded to more than 1.2 million calls - only 11 of those ended with an officer firing a weapon.

"The conversation that law enforcement is out of control is not true in our case," Mims said. "And in most cases, I believe, it's very rare."

Fresno Police officers believe the two police killings this month, in addition to the city's own highly public Dylan Noble shooting, have put a bigger target on their back.

"We have a segment of our society that's just anti-law enforcement to a degree where they are now willing to take their life for no other reason than they are wearing a uniform," Parks said.

Besides pairing officers up for certain shifts, other tactics are in place to prevent a possible ambush style attack.

"The chief is making sure officers are utilizing all the equipment that we have so it's not sitting at a storage facility," Parks explained.

Calls are also being screened to make sure it's not a setup because what used to be a possibility has now become a reality.

"We don't do this because we like driving cars, shooting guns," Mims said. "But because of our love for our community."