Cop killings leading some rural police departments in Mo. to change how they respond to 911 calls

Wikipedia map: Douglas County

Shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, and Tuesday in Kansas City, have led rural police departments in Missouri to change the way they respond to 911 calls, Sara Forhetz reports for KYTV-3 in Springfield. Smaller counties in Missouri "say they are doing a few things differently now, such as whenever someone calls 911, asking a lot more questions on the phone before they respond. It might take a little longer to get there to the scene, but at least they know who they are dealing with and what the situation is."

Rural police departments also are more closely monitoring social media, Forhetz writes. Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase told Forhetz, "Most of the time we know who we are dealing with before we go, which is a good thing... It's definitely in the back of all of our minds. ... There has been a drastic turn toward law enforcement. Just waking up and turning on the TV every morning would keep us from becoming complacent. It seems like something is happening every night." (Read more)