David O. Brown, the Dallas police chief trying to help his city heal after the deaths of five officers Thursday, knows the horror of such violence all too well: His son killed a police officer six years ago before being fatally shot himself.
Brown's son, also named David, died in a 2010 shootout with police in the suburban Dallas community of Lancaster.
He was 27 and reportedly on drugs.
The elder Brown had been on the job as chief for only seven weeks.
It was Father's Day.
And it was not the first tragedy to befall Brown, who also lost a brother and a partner to violence.
Those personal tragedies, friends say, give him a unique — and painful — window to the horror that unfolded late Thursday when a sniper, a former Army veteran, killed five police officers and wounded several others following a peaceful protest through downtown Dallas. The 25-year-old black assassin, Micah Xavier Johnson, told negotiators he wanted to "kill white people, especially white officers."
Brown, speaking in a halting manner at times, tried to be stoic during his news conference Friday. But the 30-year veteran of the force couldn't hide the pain of seeing his officers gunned down or refrain from making the incident more than just a crime against law enforcement.
"We're hurting ... We are heartbroken," he said. "There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city."
And yet he tried.
"All I know is that this, this must stop," he continued. "This divisiveness between our police and our citizens."
Keith Humphrey, the police chief of Norman, Okla., who once held that post in Lancaster, isn't surprised Brown has been front and center in helping Dallas deal with the brutality of the killings.
“There are some people who would just shut down, and they would have others conducting the interviews,” Humphrey told The Washington Post. "But that is not David. He realized the community wants to hear from him. The nation wants to hear from him.”
DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERRifles, ballistic vests found in Dallas gunman's home | 1:30
When authorities searched the home of the gunman responsible for killing police officers at a protest march, they found ammunition, rifles, ballistic vests, and a journal full of combat tactics.
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERVideo shows moments Dallas shooter fires at police | 1:33
A video reveals the moments a lone gunman opened fire during a Dallas protest march, killing 5 police officers and injuring 7 more.
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas comes together during a memorial service | 0:43
Prayers, hugs and flowers were visible during memorial service in downtown Dallas Friday as people came together to remember and try to understand the tragic events that left five law enforcement officers dead. USA TODAY
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas suspect's neighborhood, quiet returns | 0:32
Police on Friday morning seized evidence from a Mesquite, Tex., home where the suspected Dallas shooter lived. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERShooting in Dallas: A video timeline | 0:51
Raw video from Dallas provides a visual timeline of how the tragic events that left five law enforcement officers dead unfolded. USA TODAY
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERFrantic crowd flees, police rush in from Dallas shooting | 0:34
Witness video shows people running away from the scene of the Dallas shooting as police head towards the scene and usher people back.
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERU.S. attorney general calls for action, not violence | 1:44
Attorney General Loretta Lynch says these shootings can't be the "new normal." USA TODAY NETWORK
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERA visual timeline of the Dallas shooting | 1:50
A USA TODAY motion graphic detailing the time and location of events where 5 police officers were killed by a sniper in downtown Dallas. Ramon Padilla, Frank Pompa, Jim Sergent, Collin Brennan, Karl Gelles
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERFallen Dallas Officers Remembered at DC Memorial | 1:16
People have been leaving flowers and notes at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington in honor of the Dallas police officers killed and wounded Thursday night. (July 8)AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERBlack Caucus Members Call for Gun Legislation | 2:33
Following a deadly ambush that took the lives of five Dallas Police officers days after two black men were fatally shot by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, the Congressional Black Caucus called on Republicans to pass gun legislation. (July 8) AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERWitnesses describe 'mayhem' in Dallas police ambush | 1:07
Witnesses say "it hurts" that their peaceful protest erupted into violence. Twelve police officers and two civilians were shot. WFAA
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDramatic Footage Shows Dallas Officer Shot | 2:17
Amateur video shows a gun battle between one police officer and a gunman in Dallas last night. (July 8) AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERTX Police Search House Believed to be Suspect's | 2:28
Late Friday morning, investigators can be seen walking in and out of a suburban Dallas house believed to be that of a man suspected in the overnight attack that killed five Dallas police officers and wounded seven others. (July 8) AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas police chief: Gunman 'wanted to kill white people' | 1:40
Dallas police chief David Brown says a gunman that was holed up downtown expressed anger for Black Lives Matter and only wanted to shoot white police officers. He was killed after police sent in a bomb robot.
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERA newlywed, young dad among those slain in Dallas | 0:21
Seven other officers and two civilians were wounded. The identities of the victims began to emerge Friday. USA TODAY
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas Police Chief: 'We are hurting' | 2:15
Dallas Police Chief David Brown says authorities are still not certain that they have identified everyone involved in an attack on a downtown protest march that killed five police officers overnight. (July 8) AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERPolice used A 'bomb robot' to kill one of the Dallas shooting suspects | 1:39
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said they saw no other option than to use a bomb robot. Video provided by Newsy Newslook
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERMotorcade escorts slain Dallas police officers | 1:40
Five police officers were killed in a sniper attack in Dallas. Fellow officers stood at attention as a motorcade carrying the fallen officers' bodies left the hospital. WFAA
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERSpeaker Ryan: 'Our hearts are with the victims' | 3:09
House Speaker Paul Ryan took to the floor of the House Friday morning to urge Americans to defy predictions of letting anger harden divisions. (July 8) AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERRaw: Video shows protesters flee Dallas gunfire | 1:03
Raw: Video Shows Protesters Flee Dallas Gunfire AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERRaw: Video captures scene of suspected Dallas shooters | 0:45
A video posted on twitter from @Allisongriz captures the suspected shooters in Dallas. Warning: Video includes profanity. @Allisongriz/twitter
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas police ambushed: What we know | 0:28
Five police officers were killed and several others were wounded when police were ambushed during a protest in Dallas. WFAA
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPEREx-politician on Dallas: 'This is war. Watch out, Obama.' | 1:45
Former congressman and current radio host Joe Walsh went off on Twitter after the attack on Dallas police. He has since deleted some of his tweets. WFAA
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas shooting witness: I'm just happy to be alive | 2:21
A man who was in downtown Dallas when shots rang out during a police protest told WFAA that he is \u0022just happy to be alive.\u0022
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERObama on 'twisted' sniper attacks: No justification | 0:34
President Obama says there is "no possible justification" or the killing of 5 Dallas police officers when multiple snipers opened fire during a protest against police-involved shootings. AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERAmateur video appears to show Dallas gunman | 0:26
Amateur video from Dallas appears to show a gunman trading fire with police on Thursday night. Five officers have died after someone opened fire on police during a protest. Three people are in custody. AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas Mayor mourns fallen officers | 0:24
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings spoke early Friday about the shooting that killed at least five police officers. The mayor said Dallas police officers put their lives on the line to protect citizens every day. (July 8) AP
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDART officer killed in Dallas sniper attack identified | 0:30
Brent Thompson, 43, is the first Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer killed in the line of duty. He was one of five officers killed when snipers opened fire on police during a protest against police-involved shootings.
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERRaw video from El Centro College during Dallas sniper attack | 0:41
This is raw cellphone video from inside El Centro College in Dallas where a sniper suspect was holed up for hours before reportedly killing himself. The standoff came after snipers ambushed police, killing five and wounding six.
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DALLAS POLICE AMBUSHED BY SNIPERDallas sniper suspect at El Centro College 'confirmed dead' | 0:29
Dallas police sources confirmed that one of the suspects of a deadly sniper attack is dead after a long standoff with police. Five officers were killed in the attack six were wounded. Three other suspects were in custody. WFAA
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Rifles, ballistic vests found in Dallas gunman's home
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Brown's string of personal tragedy began in 1988 when he responded to the shooting of an officer only to find out it was his partner and police academy classmate, Walter L. Williams. Brown was with Williams’s children the night they learned their father died at the hospital, according to a Dallas Morning News profile published shortly after he was named chief in 2010.
"When things like that happen and you're really close, you don't believe it for the longest time," Brown told the newspaper. "I really relate to all of those in-the-line-of-duty deaths (on a) much more personal level ... you lose a partner, you just never get over it."
Three years later, Brown lost his younger brother, Kelvin, when drug dealers killed him in the Phoenix area.
Then in 2010, it was his son and namesake.
News reports at the time indicate the younger Brown was "behaving erratically" at the apartment complex where the shootings occurred in Lancaster. Wearing boxers, sunglasses and no shoes, Brown apparently killed a man who had just pulled into the complex in his car with his wife and children. When officer Craig Shaw arrived on the scene, Brown shot him dead before officers returned fire and killed the shooter.
Afterward, Brown personally met with the families of the two men his son killed.
The killings in Dallas on Thursday come amid growing unrest between minorities and law enforcement agencies following a spate of incidents where police officers have shot blacks.
During his news conference Friday, Brown, who is black, seemed to address the entire country when he urged the public to consider the dangerous and often under-appreciated job police officers perform.
"Please join me in applauding these brave men and women who do this job under great scrutiny, under great vulnerability, who literally risk their lives to protect our democracy," he said. "We don't feel much support most days. Let's not make today most days."
Humphrey said he's proud of how Brown has handled himself in the face of such grief and shock.
“He is setting an example to chiefs all over the nation of what resilience is and how to help your officers get through these tragedies,” Humphrey told The Washington Post. “He’s a true leader.”
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