NEW HAVEN >> As news of the murders of five police officers in Dallas spread overnight and into Friday, the New Haven Police Department announced it would change the way officers patrol in the Elm City, while state officials and police expressed sorrow at the officers’ deaths and Gov. Dannel Malloy directed U.S. and Connecticut flags to fly at half staff effective immediately.

“The events over the last week shock the soul,” Malloy said in a release. “They have been jolts to our collective conscience – both in Connecticut and nationwide – that require a moment of mass reflection.”

Flags should remain at half-staff until sunset on July 12, in accordance with a proclamation from President Barack Obama, Malloy said. Accordingly, since no flag should fly higher than the U.S. flag, all state, local, municipal, corporate and other flags should also be lowered during this same duration of time.

“As a society, we must look in the mirror and ask very simple questions that don’t always have easy answers,” Malloy said. “Is the horror we’ve witnessed over the last week really who we are – and is it who we want to be? How is it that violence in our society has become so profoundly pervasive? How is it that we are watching weekly – if not daily – tragedy occur?”

“What happened in Dallas was un-American, because it was police officers who sought to keep protestors safe and uphold the right to freedom of expression, Malloy said.

New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman said city officers will change how they patrol in the wake of the Dallas shootings. Officers who normally patrol alone will be paired up and the department will use other methods to make their patrol patterns less predictable.

Commanding officers have talked with rank-and-file officers about the patrol changes.

“The directive to officers is clear: Provide for New Haven’s and your own safety,” Hartman said.

Hartman said the department is filled with grief for the lives cut short. He said police often expect tragedy but are still shaken by news like that coming out of Dallas. “The deaths were senseless but their lives were not,” Hartman said. “Their lives had meaning. They stood for something. They fought for something. They were honorable.”

New Haven Mayor Toni N. Harp said in a statement, “The sadness, frustration, and anger built into continuing violence and loss of life this week is compounded by the fact that those dedicated to peacekeeping – and enforcing laws under which we all agree to live – have become objects of this violence,” she said.“The circumstances in Dallas are appalling and contemptible, and they reaffirm my commitment to community-based, collaborative policing that is the hallmark of New Haven’s public safety strategy.”

Yale Police Chief Ron Higgins also expressed his department’s grief at news of the shootings.

“Heavy hearts in NH today,” Higgins said on Twitter early Friday afternoon. “YPD sends love and support to the families of the victims in Dallas, @DallasPD and everyone in the blue uniform.”

In an interview late Friday morning with the Register, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he was “shocked and horrified by the heartbreaking toll for courageous police officers.”

“This tragedy is one of our worst nightmares for law enforcement,” said Blumenthal, D-Conn. “They were there protecting people, trying to stop shooting of innocent victims and put themselves directly in harm’s away. It really is gut-wrenching.”

Blumenthal, a former Connecticut attorney general, said he had spoken to a couple of law enforcement contacts in the wake of the shootings.

“It’s a tightly-knit community,” he said. “They’re feeling it very directly.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy was tweeting about the shootings as they unfolded late Thursday and again Friday morning, continuing to speak out against gun violence.

“This week is just another punch in the stomach and to think about these unbelievably brave, heroic police officers who were killed in the line of duty trying to protect civilians is just unthinkable. This is really a moment where there’s a possibility for this nation to retreat into corners and we can’t do that,” Murphy said Friday evening. “We’ve got to unite behind the idea that there are things that we can do to try to stem this rising tide of gun violence. There are things we can do to try to fight back against the hatred, the bias that sometimes lead people to do unthinkable things. These are really tough times. We know more than anywhere in the country how much these mass shootings hurt but we can’t turn this into a political slugfest. We’ve got to find ways to come together.”

“Every incident, every mass shooting is different and we’re going to learn the facts of this one, but this doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world,” he said. “This level of gun violence is unique to America and so we shouldn’t accept it. We should try things that will lessen this epidemic rate of gun violence. We also have a political element that is infecting a lot of these shootings. We’ve got to deal with it as well, whether it’s hatred against police officers or gays and lesbians, we’ve got to have a nationwide conversation about how we fight against the kind of bias that seems to be inherent in some of these really tragic incidences.”

In mid-June, he held the floor of the U.S. Senate for more than 14 hours, demanding lawmakers vote on measures to expand background checks and bar people from buying guns if they are suspected of being terrorists. Subsequent votes on those measures failed.

A fact checker from the Washington Post later said three of Murphy’s statements during the filibuster were inaccurate, partially because he included suicide statistics in total gun deaths, not just number of homicides.

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty has also been an outspoken advocate for stricter gun laws. In a statement Friday, Esty said she was “heartbroken and outraged” at the news of the shootings.

Esty, who represents Litchfield County and some of New Haven’s northern suburbs, said she is reaching out to police officers in her district.

“Now more than ever, we need law, order, justice, and peace,” said Esty, D-5. “These outrageous murders in Dallas only compound the heartache and injustice felt by millions of Americans over the shootings of Alton Sterling (in Louisiana) and Philando Castile (in Minnesota). Black lives matter. We must say so, and we must commit to pursuing justice.”

“No one is more committed to the pursuit of justice than our law enforcement community,” Esty added. “I’m incredibly proud of our police officers in central and northwest Connecticut – and their families – and grateful for their service to ensure peace and security for our communities every day. Our police also feel under siege.”

Quoting Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Esty called for love and unity to drive out injustice, violence and hate in the wake of the shootings.

State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Dora B. Schriro noted in a release that “Even though we are many states and cities, we are one community – and our community has suffered too many losses.”

“Citizens marching in peaceful protest and Law Enforcement’s ensuring their right to do so were shot last night. Five of Dallas’s Finest were killed, another (seven officers) and (two) civilians were injured,” Schriro said in the release. “As was the case in Dallas, where police officers ran towards the threat in order to protect the public, in Connecticut State Troopers and the state’s many police departments are on the frontline to keep our towns safe. Our work can be difficult and dangerous, but is always important and immensely satisfying. The CSP is proud of its service and that of its partners in law enforcement—we are steadfast in our commitment to the people of Connecticut. We pray for the safety of law enforcement and their communities around the country.”

“Any time a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty, we reflect on the risks we take every day,” State Police Colonel Alaric J. Fox said, also in a statement. “CT State Troopers are on the frontlines of keeping the peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters in Dallas and around the county.”

Middletown Police Detective Derek Puorro, who is chairman of the AFSCME Connecticut Public Safety Council, said the union stands with Dallas officers and their families and will help them in any way they can.

“These officers went to work every day, as all of us in Connecticut do, with the goal of protecting the lives of their fellow citizens foremost in their minds,” he said in a statement early Friday afternoon.

Puorro said the union’s 2,300 Connecticut police officers have a unique perspective on the recent tragedies.

“We must not lose sight of the importance of respecting the millions of officers who do a dangerous job each day with dignity and respect for all,” Puorro said. “This is no time for politicking or demagoguery. It’s a time to come together for the health and safety of our communities.”

Connecticut State Police Union President Andrew N. Matthews said in a statement that examples of alleged officer misconduct throughout the country have not occurred within the state police. He said people should be encouraged others to reserve judgment until all facts are known and if it is determined a police officer -- thousands of miles away -- acted inappropriately, then they must be held accountable.

“Over the past two years, law enforcement officers around the country have been under significant pressure and criticism from what is a national trend to attack this honorable profession. As a result, a few hate-filled individuals have killed innocent police officers only because of the uniform they wear,” he said. “These officers put on their uniforms then died enforcing the law and ensuring the constitutional rights of complete strangers. They did not deserve to be assassinated in cold blood.”

U.S. Rep. John Larson, who represents that Hartford area, parts of Torrington and some Middletown suburbs, also expressed shock at the Dallas attacks and noted how frequently the country is rocked by deadly tragedies. “It seems at times our nation barely begins to process the grief and trauma of one tragedy before another sends us reeling again,” said Larson, D-1. “This week has already been filled with too many heartbreaks, too much violence. Our communities remain shaken and scarred by the loss of so many innocent lives from the events in Dallas to Baton Rouge and Minnesota. Violence is never the path forward. We must endeavor to end bigotry in all its forms and bring people together.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, who represents lower Fairfield County, as well as Shelton and Oxford, also expressed grief at news of the officers’ deaths.

“Devastated by the murder and wounding of police officers in Dallas,” Himes said on Twitter. “Too much killing and violence. We are a better country than this.”

New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said in a statement Thursday she was shocked by the shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana. “Heartsick only begins to describe how I feel,” Harp said in a statement. “This is every mother’s worst fear and I grieve for the loved ones of these men.”

“Every mayor in the nation dreads a comparable incident,” Mayor Harp added. “New Haven is fortunate to have well-trained, highly disciplined police personnel on duty, greatly reducing the risk of a similar circumstance here.”