BATON ROUGE – Forty-five sheriff's deputies from area parishes were sworn in to work in East Baton Rouge Monday evening.

The deputies will work patrols on the streets, helping to ease the stress the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office is feeling. A deputy was shot and killed in an ambush by an assassin Sunday. Before the shooting, deputies were working long hours as protesters rallied in the aftermath of the shooting death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge earlier in July.

“We are here to continuously serve and protect our citizens. Most of them are good people,” the sheriff said.

“There are still high emotions, but for the most part this community has come together – black, white, whatever – for peace,” the sheriff said in a live-stream of the swearing-in posted on the department's Facebook page.

“Be safe,” Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said as he swore in deputies from Ascension, St. Mary, West Feliciana and St. Charles.

Forty-two additional deputies from other areas will be sworn in Tuesday. Deputies are part of the Sheriff's Association Task Force.

The deputy killed Sunday was one of three officers murdered.  Two Baton Rouge Police officers were also killed. 

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