Howard law enforcement, community react to Dallas shootings

"Then, a peaceful protest becomes an opportunity for vigilantes to begin killing police officers in Dallas. What is happening America?" Walker wrote. "As a black man I am extremely frustrated by the continued use of deadly force by police officers, who are usually white, shooting and killing black men. Then, it's made worse by the pundits who try to justify these heinous actions as if there can be justification."

As a father of two sons in their 20s, Walker said he's unsure how they should interact and respond with police.

"We need to have a long season of courageous conversations between police and community members, especially those who would otherwise never speak to one another," Walker wrote. "Police officers need to be safe and do their job, black citizens need to feel safe when encountered by law enforcement officers."

A tweet from former Howard County Executive Ken Ulman issued feelings of "sadness, anger and frustration," thanking law enforcement for their services in keeping the community safe.

The Howard County Police Department also tweeted their condolences to the families of the victims, stating, "Our hearts are broken for #Dallas - not just as police officers, but as people."

In a joint statement posted on the Howard County Police Department's Facebook page, County Executive Allan Kittleman, Police Chief Gary Gardner and Howard County NAACP President David Steele wrote: "We in Howard County are heartbroken over the deadly attack on police officers in Dallas, just as we recognize the need for continued review of police actions in agencies around the nation. There are no 'sides' here. There are just people … with families, friends, children and loved ones."

The statement pointed to police programs initiated in the county in the last year to improve communication and to help build trust with the community, as well as "new and expanded training in our police academy and in-service training."

"We are fortunate in Howard County to have a community that is supportive of its police department. We must join together, rely on each other, and recognize there is more that brings us together than divides us," the statement read.

In another Facebook post, Ball wrote that regardless of race, many police officers, some of them personal friends, work to provide their communities with justice and equality.

"They agree with me that we can do better and be better," Ball's post read. "My heart aches for the family and communities shaken by the senseless deaths of blacks at the hands of officers. I also feel for those who wear the uniform, do the right thing for all, and, while their hearts ache with ours, are also painted with the same brush of anger and hate. Please stand with me against injustice, murder, and those who dishonor the uniform at the same time as we stand with those who honor the uniform and our humanity."

Alongside government agencies, community leaders have remained vocal about the recent shootings that have taken the lives of black men. Sherman Howell, vice president of the African American Coalition of Howard County, said that the white community needs to take responsibility for ending racism.

"We would prefer to be in the back, because we don't own anything, we don't control anything," he said. "We are not the ones causing the racist problem, so we can't deal with it."

Howell said Americans need to eradicate the "racist environment" he believes that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his millions of followers are creating.

"Otherwise you're going to experience more Dallases," he said. "Because we're not dealing with an American problem, and it's getting more intense."

Local youth pastor and Black Lives Matter activist Janelle Bruce condemned the killings of the police officers, saying the movement "advocates dignity, justice and freedom. Not murder."

"I'm grieving now for the police officers, because they're humans, and we're humans, too," Bruce said. "I just need people to understand that that's the same terror that black people feel every day, when we send our black children outside."

Moving forward, Bruce said the community must hold police accountable for their actions and restore trust between the two.

"But you have to have a system that's worthy of trust," she said.

This story has been updated.