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Livingston Parish president urges for prayer and unity after Sunday shooting

7 years 8 months 1 week ago Monday, July 18 2016 Jul 18, 2016 July 18, 2016 9:13 AM July 18, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ

LIVINGSTON – Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks released a statement on the Sunday morning shooting where three Baton Rouge officers were killed and another three were injured.

Sheriff’s deputy Brad Garafola, BRPD officers BRPD officers Montrell Jackson and Matthew Gerald were by the lone gunman, 29-year-old Gavin Long, on Airline Highway near Old Hammond.

Three other officers were left injured on Sunday. One of those injured officers is sheriff's deputy Nicholas Tullier and is at a local hospital on life support at the time of this post.

Livingston President Layton Ricks said that the "senseless acts" that happened on Sunday made him wake up to a “somber” feeling and realized how it changed the lives around him.

Read below for President Ricks’ full statement:

I have watched with great sadness and unease the recent events involving law enforcement in Baton Rouge and subsequently Dallas. Until yesterday, I had a sense of distance and security from the events happening in other communities. Yesterday, that sense of safety dissolved as Livingston Parish residents fell in the line of duty. Now our community has directly felt the grief and anguish of this upheaval.

It woke me up to the somber fact that events, even those happening next door or hundreds of miles away, in an instant can change my life and the lives of those around me. We are all touched by tragedy and senseless acts that threaten our sense of civility and security. Sometimes horrific events pull us together but sometimes they pull us apart.

We must realize and understand that law enforcement is the only thing standing between a civilized society and chaos and lawlessness. Every day, these men and women get up and put on a uniform that makes them a target for the misguided ideologies of others. Yet they continue to risk their lives so the rest of us can face each day with a sense of normalcy and protection as we go about our daily lives.

These are not just men and women in uniform, they are our children, our parents, our siblings. In the blink of an eye, three of these noble men lost their lives defending civilians; three others are wounded, one with such severe injuries he is literally fighting for his life.

I urge you, not just as the duly elected President of Livingston Parish, but as a member of this community and as a father and grandfather, we must remember that we, as Americans, are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. United we stand or divided we will fall.

Please, join me in praying for peace, security and safety for our families and communities. We need to be in prayer for all those who mourn and those who sit next to loved ones suffering from the horrible impacts of this violence. Pray for healing, pray for resolution and pray for the men and women who risk their lives to enforce the laws of civilized society.

I stand firm in my unwavering support of all members of the law enforcement community. Without their barrier, we will surely face the loss of peace and order. Our society cannot survive without these ideals.

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