Police departments across the country may be looking at ways to make the job safer. That's after a rash of police involved shooting across the country. Several officers have been killed or injured in the line of duty in the last several days.
"It's an extremely dangerous job and we've all be reminded of that over the course of the last couple of months," says Metro Police Chief Robert White.
During Monday's metro police promotions ceremony, both Chief White and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer expressed concern about the shootings.
"You wake up to the news and you hear these crazy things that have happened in Detroit or Indianapolis and you just pray that it doesn't happen here in our community," says Mayor Fischer.
In fact, Chief White says they're already looking at changes to better protect officers here. "We made some changes a couple of years ago as it relates to that and we're actually in the process of having some conversations now to see if there are some more things that we need to do."
The goal is to make sure officers go home at the end of every shift because that doesn't always happen. In 2005, metro police officer peter Grignon was shot and killed by teenage suspect--and 2007, Floyd County Sheriff's deputy Frank Denzinger was shot and killed by a teenager while responding to a domestic disturbance call.
"As an officer you know that you are a target," says Eric Johnson, executive director of Supporting Heroes. Johnson is a former police officer; his organization helps families of fallen officers, firefighters and EMTs. "For every police officers who hears that an officers has been shot, I think everyone of them thinks if not for the God there go I," says Johnson.
Metro police recently received a grant that will put another 32 officers on the street. Chief White says that will help improve safety for everyone.