These are frightening times for our country.

Police officers Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald and Brad Garafola were killed in an ambush Sunday in Baton Rouge, La. That happened barely a week after five officers were shot and killed and seven others wounded by a sniper in Dallas.

Those shootings followed a pair of high-profile incidents in which police shot and killed two African-American civilians.

As we said last week, there is never any justification – none – for attacks on police officers.

"Attacks on police are an attack on all of us, and the rule of law that makes society possible," President Barack Obama said after the latest tragedy.

The president is right on that point, but being right doesn’t solve the problem.

As unsettling as these tragedies are, there is hope to be found in the response of the police themselves, especially those here in New Hampshire.

"This is our job, this what we do," Nashua Police Chief Andrew Lavoie said last week. "Officers are at risk every single day. Every time you walk out of the police station there is a risk of you being involved in a deadly-force situation."

Lavoie said his confidence in his officers’ ability to handle the daily stresses of policing stems from a sure and certain knowledge of how well trained they are.

Merrimack Police Chief Mark Doyle said last week that his department, too, will continue to police the town the same way as before the shootings.

"But when something happens we review situations like this, and this is the nature of the beast, but we make sure we look long and hard at it," he said. "This is one of those situations where each officer needs to take stock on how they would respond. We are trained for this, but our officers need to know it could happen. This is just a continual reminder of how difficult and challenging this job is in this day and age."

It’s heartening to know that police are embracing that challenge.

"Go out and do your job," said New Hampshire State Police Col. Robert Quinn of his message to the state’s 400 troopers. "Be as vigilant as possible. Be professional."

Quinn said he encourages troopers to practice community policing and work on relationship-building at a grassroots level to establish trust.

"The biggest skill you can have is being able to talk and listen," he said.

Police have an often thankless job, so it was heartwarming that, after the Dallas tragedy, departments across the Nashua region received an outpouring of messages and gifts from residents who just wanted to show their appreciation for the people who keep our communities safe despite the hazards inherent in the job.

"In a nutshell, crazy tragedies are perpetrated by crazy people," Lavoie said. "Unfortunately that’s part of being a cop. Our job is to be out there, no matter what. To answer calls, no matter what."

At a time when all hell seems to be breaking loose elsewhere around the country, it’s reassuring to know that the officers who protect us are as committed as ever.

It makes a frightening time just a little less so.