Dallas (WBAP/KLIF News) – El Centro marked the anniversary of the attack that left five police officers dead on Friday. The college was evacuated the night of July 7, 2016, and a police robot was used to kill the gunman inside.
On Friday, the school hosted a ceremony to honor the officers who were killed and injured. Two officers with the Dallas Community College District were hurt. Officer John Abbott was hit by broken glass.
“It’s something that I prepared for for years, something I had made my peace with,” Abbott says. “It’s something I wish never happened, but it’s something I intend to learn from as best I can.”
Abbott has since returned to work.
“I never really lost the enthusiasm,” he says. “As my friends in the military used to say, ‘You’re off living the dream because you’re out there doing what you need to do.’”
El Centro President Jose Adames says one woman told him police protected her when shots were fired, even though she was part of the protest of police brutality that preceded the attack.
“That’s a tribute to the kind of things we should be talking about and we should be about as a community here in Dallas,” he says.
Adames says he hopes El Centro can lead discussions on the reasons behind the protest and how police and the people they protect can understand each other better.
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