Grand Rapids police patrol in pairs for ’emotional support’

The police chief in Grand Rapids is defending a decision to put two officers in patrol cars after the shootings in Dallas.

Chief David Rahinsky said officers are in pairs to offer "emotional support" to each other.

Besides the deaths of five Dallas officers, he said this month is the ninth anniversary of a fatal shooting of a Grand Rapids officer and the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting in the city.

Rahinsky said officers need "someone to listen to, someone to talk to." He said that's the purpose.

The local head of the NAACP said the decision may be sending the wrong signal to the public.

At the same news conference Friday, Cle Jackson asked how minorities should "double up" to protect themselves from questionable police stops.