Dallas police are angry now that it’s been confirmed that top police leaders ordered cops to leave protective gear off before they were targeted by a murderer who killed 7 police officers.
Watch below:
More from CBS Dallas Fort Worth:
The I-Team has learned the officers assigned to the rally in downtown Dallas last July – where five officers were killed and nine wounded – were told not to wear certain heavy protective gear because it would make them look too “militaristic.”
“They were told not to wear their heavy gear,” which, if worn, may have “stopped some of those rounds,” Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, told the I-Team.
Mata, in an exclusive interview, said that, while all of the officers were believed to have been wearing standard-issued protective vests, many had with them better protective gear – stronger, thicker body armor and helmets – but had to keep them in their patrol vehicles.
“They didn’t want the police department to look militaristic to the community, look aggressive, incite any type of trouble,” he said.
For the same reasons, according to Mata, the officers were not allowed to “arm up” with powerful long rifles – a weapon much like the one Micah Johnson had when he ambushed them, marking one of deadliest attacks on law enforcement in history.
Pretty terrible. So why did it take so long to find out about this?
Even the journalist reporting the story said, “we sat in that room and thought, ‘wow, why are we just hearing this?'” The answer is obvious. Had they revealed this a year ago there would have been a huge public outcry. A year later, the public’s ADD will keep them from even noticing.
Here’s more about the terrible Dallas massacre:
UPDATE: 11 OFFICERS SHOT, 4 DEAD, SUSPECTS MAY HAVE PLANTED A BOMB DOWNTOWN — POLICE CHIEF
‘White people have and will continue to kill us off!!’ – Dallas killer’s sister defends massacre