One of the officers slain in the Dallas, TX police ambush was a US Marine veteran and contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan.
43-year-old Brent Thompson of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit police was the first of five deceased officer to be identified in the aftermath of the Dallas ambush, a coordinated attack that took place during a Thursday protest against police brutality.
“Our hearts are broken,” DART spokesperson Morgan Lyons said. “This is something that touches every part of our organization.”
Thompson was a former US Marine who later worked for a defense contractor to train Iraqi and Afghan police in the concepts of “democratic policing.” According to Military.com, Thompson’s LinkedIn profile said he also trained individuals in how to avoid an ambush.
In civilian life, he served as an instructor for the Dallas police academy.
“While teaching at the Police Academy, I instructed courses to new recruits on different subject matter, as well as instruction to veteran police officers on state mandated courses,” Thompson wrote.
Thompson is the first DART cop to be killed in action since 1989 and officials say he had recently married a fellow police officer just two weeks ago.
12 officers were shot and five were killed in the ambush, with two civilians injured in the exchange. One of the shooters has been identified as Micah X. Johnson, a US Army soldier.
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