With a mourning band over the center of his badge, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder faced his deputies Friday with words of encouragement.
"They must keep their spirits up, stay alert, stay engaged and do everything they can to be the life preservers that we tasked them to be," said Sheriff Snyder.
On Thursday night, Martin County deputies and the world saw the events unfold on Live TV. A sniper ambushed Dallas Police Officers during a peaceful protests, killed 5, injuring 7.
"I would be surprised if any of my people actually reach out for professional counseling, but I think they'll talk about it themselves, they'll sort through it," said the Sheriff.
The brother of Corey Jones offered his condolences to those officers' families today. In a text message he said "I'm deeply sorry for the cowardly actions of certain individuals on the taking of any cop's life. To all the good cops that we have, it's time for you to hold your brothers who are doing wrong on the force to either change their ways or resign...We are tired of senseless shootings coming from both sides," said CJ Jones.
"The worst thing that could come out of this is, that we have continued polarization where there is suspicion between law enforcement and the community," said Sheriff Snyder.
Sheriff Snyder says he knows the majority of Americans support law enforcement, but they also have to be prepared for the worst. His deputies use tactical rifles and he is considering making the weapons a mandatory piece of equipment.
"We can't be outgunned and this murderer on this incident in Dallas had a tactical advantage. He did have a tactical rifle able to penetrate soft body armor. He had the element of surprise. He knew our tactics," added he Sheriff Snyder.
RELATED: Click here for the latest on the story | Shooter 'wanted to kill white officers' | Pictures from the scene | Pres. Obama issues statement
Sheriff Snyder says representatives from his office will be attending the officers' funerals in Dallas. He commented on the discussion of some police departments going from a single officer in a patrol car to a two-officer team. He says it wouldn't work for Martin County, but either way he says he doubts it would help in a situation like the one in Dallas where officers are outgunned.