Chautauqua County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Hover's policed the streets in Mayville a thousand times before. Today though, is different. “It definitely changes the way you go out on patrol. It's in the back of your mind all the time,” said Hover.
Hover's being extra vigilant in light of the Dallas ambush. The 24-year police veteran is on high alert. “Every day you come out, and you just never know, you might stop the wrong person and it could be the one that's trying to take a police officer's life,” he said.
Something Hover's all too familiar with. He was shot at while on the job about 15 years ago. “You could hear the bullets flying through the trees up over our heads. You don't forget something like that.”
Joseph Gerace is the Chautauqua County Sheriff. He said he got in contact with all of his deputies first thing Friday morning, updating them on the Dallas developments.
“A word to all law enforcement is be on your toes. We're a target. But, we're not going to stop doing our jobs. Our job is to help people, and 99.9% of law enforcement do their job, and do it right. They put their lives on the line for the public.”
Gerace said other than being extra careful, they aren't doing anything that different. His deputies are highly trained and that training is designed to keep each person as safe as possible. “We are the folks that are called when people need help. When something bad is happening, we're coming, and I ask people to appreciate law enforcement for what they do day in and day out.”
“It’s not going to deter me from doing my job,” Hover added. “I really would never even consider getting out of the profession.”
