Slaying of Dallas Officer Doesn't Dissuade Would-be Recruit: ‘Things Like That Motivate Me'

Amanda Martin showed up for Dallas police officer tryouts already sporting her own "thin blue line": a blue cloth headband to catch stray hairs as she ran, jumped and lifted.Martin said she wasn't inspired to test her mettle by this week's deadly shooting at a Dallas Home Depot. But it reassured her that she'd made the right choice.Officer Rogelio Santander, 27, died Wednesday, a day after he was shot, along with another officer, Crystal Almeida, 26, and Home Depot loss-prevention officer, Scott Painter. The theft suspect accused of the crime, 29-year-old Armando Luis Juarez, was arrested Tuesday night after a police chase that ended in a neighborhood near Love Field."This department has had some hard times," said Martin, referring to Tuesday's shooting and the July 2016 ambush as she waited for the physical fitness tests to begin. "Things like that motivate me. They don't scare me away.The headband was a purposeful show of strength and support, she said.  Continue reading...