SMITH CO. — A Dallas Police Officer was shot and killed on Tuesday, and many thought that it happened when the officers were serving an arrest warrant to an individual.
While that wasn't the case, serving arrest warrants can be a scary and dangerous task for law enforcement.
Every time he sends an officer out to serve a warrant, Sergeant Darrell Coslin with the Smith Co. Sheriff's Office said the circumstances are different.
"All kinds of factors come into play here," Coslin said. "The severity of the nature of the warrant itself, what is this individual wanted for, what acts has he or she committed in the past."
When deputies do go out, they focus on three things.
"We're responsible for the public's safety, the officer's safety, and the suspect's safety," Coslin said. "So everything that we do, we try to plan to accomplish those goals."
When it comes to when and where to serve, it's typically a case by case basis.
"Obviously when someone's inside their residence, they have access to weapons, that make them more dangerous," Coslin said.
He said in some cases, they've watched a suspect's moves and pulled them over through traffic stops.
In other cases, they've even shown up at their jobs, and it's all done for the safety of their deputies.
"We contact individuals not knowing who they are or what they're capable of doing, what they've done in the past, and what they're about to do," Coslin said.
With so many things possible, the best protection is making sure deputies are prepared for anything.
"Training is imperative," Coslin said "Anything you can do to train these officers on situational awareness and officer safety, techniques with dealing with people that may be a threat to them."
Even though it's heartbreaking to hear of a fellow officer killed in the line of duty, Coslin said at the end of the day, it's a risk that comes with the job.