Thin blue line connects Lynn police to slain NY and Florida officers

LYNN – Area police officials interviewed Sunday are reminding officers to be extra vigilant after two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were fatally shot while sitting in their cruiser Saturday by a man apparently seeking revenge for the recent deaths of unarmed black teens at the hands of white police.”There’s been a lot of internal chatter since yesterday – and in email and text messages – and I addressed the department this morning. I told our officers just to be smart, to use their training and experience and be aware of their surroundings, and just be careful,” Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger said. “We’re still going to do our job, we’re still going to respond to 911 calls, and still respond to calls, yes, but we’re going to be more cautious, and I hope people understand that.”NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were gunned down at close range in their patrol car in Brooklyn on Saturday by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who then committed suicide. Before the attack, Brinsley, 28, wrote on an Instagram account: “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let’s take 2 of theirs.”Brinsley used the hashtags Shootthepolice RIPErivGardner (sic) RIPMikeBrown – references to two blacks who died at the hands of police. Garner died in a New York City officer’s chokehold, and Brown was shot by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Grand juries decided not to bring charges against either officer.Brinsley was black; the two slain officers were Hispanic and Asian.Neither Coppinger, Revere Police Lt. Amy O’Hara, nor Saugus Police Assistant Chief Ronald Giorgetti cited specific instances of violence or threats against local officers since the Brown or Garner decisions.But all three officials said they were sending messages of condolence to the affected police officers’ families and department, and are reminding local officers to be vigilant.”In this job, obviously, you have to be vigilant no matter what’s going on in the national news,” said O’Hara. “Whenever you respond to a call, you have to be aware of your surroundings and have your head on a swivel. But, I’m not going to lie, we are talking about it, and just reinforcing that you have to be super vigilant on a call.”Perhaps more indicative of the extent of local officers’ concern was that both Coppinger and O’Hara said the New York event had made them question officer safety not just when responding to calls of distress … but in matters as simple as picking up a cup of coffee on the way to work or walking to an interview with a local paper.”There are enough unknowns in our work – anytime we pull someone over, anytime we respond to a domestic call, which happens a lot, unfortunately, or knock on a door,” Coppinger said. “Now we have to ratchet it up a couple of notches because now police can’t even apparently drive down the street in a cruiser without being a target.”He called the officers’ killings “outrageous” and echoed NYPD Commissioner William Bratton in describing the killings as “assassinations.”To address concerns about officer safety, both Coppinger and O’Hara said their departments were reinforcing lessons learned in training about responding to calls, remaining vigilant and being aware of surroundings.Both also emphasized programs and initiatives to reach out to community members and establish a positive relationship among community groups and police – efforts that have become increasingly important over the last few months.Revere Police, for instance, will be launching a “coffee with a cop” program where an officer basically makes himself or herself available to chat with locals at a neighborhood coffee shop. Swampscott Police have a similar program. O’Hara also said she is always impressed with the success of the Revere Citizen’s Police Academy.”Every time we have it?(participants) are amazed at what happens in the police department,” O’Hara said. “And that’s one thing I’m glad we’re doing, so people know what we do.”Coppinger said Lynn Police have reached