Dallas police lift lockdown after finding no threat
July 10, 2016
Dallas police have given the all-clear after an hours-long lockdown of police headquarters.
The city's police headquarters and the surrounding blocks were placed under lockdown early Saturday evening after an anonymous threat was made against the entire police department.
SWAT teams were deployed, and officers were sweeping a multistory parking garage close to the headquarters. A meticulous search for a reportedly suspicious person in a parking garage next to police headquarters turned up no suspect, and the lockdown was lifted.
The action comes two days after a sniper killed five city police officers at a demonstration.
In an emailed statement issued before the lockdown, authorities said, "The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures" to heighten security.
Earlier in the day an armored vehicle was moved into the proximity of the police department's downtown headquarters, as heavily armed officers patrolled nearby. But members of the public were also walking freely around the building.
Other police departments around the country have also been receiving threats.
The turmoil is the result of two videos showing police fatally shooting black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and the subsequent killing of five police officers in Dallas.
Victim's uncle speaks out
An uncle of the black Minnesota man who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop last week says his nephew "stayed on the straight and narrow" and was "always a good man."
Clarence Castile was standing at the site where Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer last week.
Two memorials have been set up at the site, and a steady stream of sympathizers are paying homage. There are many flower bouquets and messages. Others used chalk on the street to write condolences and notes of support for the family.
Clarence Castile described his nephew, Philando, as giving, timid and loving. He vowed to "not let my nephew be killed in vain." He says something more has to come from this.
bik/bk (Reuters, AP, AFP)