At least four law officers have been killed nationwide in the past nine days and a longtime lawman in southwest Iowa says he’s seeing a shift in public sentiment about people who wear badges. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the law enforcement career is already dangerous, but all of the anti-police protests and violence against officers is changing the way they do business.

“It appears to be,” Sheriff Danker says. “I’ve been in law enforcement for almost 38 years and it’s definitely changed, the perception and what people are saying, the inflammatory things that are said about law enforcement. It definitely has changed.” Danker says he and his deputies have not experienced a lot of law enforcement hatred like what is being seen elsewhere around the country.

Pott. Co. Sheriff Jeff Danker

“For the most part, we don’t,” Danker says, “but depending on the call that you go to, the individuals you deal with, whether they’re on some type of drugs or alcohol, possibly some mental health issues, and some people just don’t like law enforcement.” In general, Danker says people in Iowa respect law officers.

“I believe the majority of people support law enforcement,” Danker says. “They appreciate the fact that we’re out there doing the job that we do and putting our lives on the line every day. No matter where you are, rural, urban, anything can happen. Randomly, people saying things to us? No, not really.” Protesters with the “Black Lives Matter” group took to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds last weekend, chanting, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon,” as they marched. The protest came one day after a deputy sheriff in Texas was shot several times in the back.

(Radio Iowa)