Long Islanders are trying to make sense of this week's violence involving police in Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota.

The ambush-style shooting of 12 officers in Dallas, which included five deaths, followed protests over this week's fatal police-involved shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

"My condolences to all the families," says Michael Perez, of Freeport. "It's just a very confusing thing going on right now."

Many who spoke to News 12 Long Island believe the violence stems from years of tension and fear between police and communities of color.

"There's been years and years, before the cameras and the portable cameras are available, that African-Americans, especially our males, have been a victim of police brutality," says local civil rights activist Terenna Williams.

Dennis Jones, an African-American man and a retired NYPD detective, has seen the issues on both ends.



"You're going to have some people that are going to do things inappropriately in any business but to come back and to harm people - innocent police officers that are part of protecting a rally - it's really ludicrous," says Jones.