Police practically fly blind when going into someone's home, often not knowing who the people are or what they're capable of. While 911 dispatchers try to provide guidance, it doesn't always keep up with a fast-moving scene.
"There's a lot of unknowns, it's an electrically charged environment that we're going into," says West Orange Police Sergeant Andrew Berkery.
"Sometimes it can manifest itself differently on scene and you have got to kind of work through those challenges," says West Orange Police Officer Anthony Piserchio.
Police officers do it routinely. One of the biggest challenges they say is a person's mental state. And more police are dying on the job.
According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, 62 officers in the United States were shot and killed last year, which is up almost 40%, and nearly a third were ambushed.
In New York City Friday, it came together tragically for two officers in their 20s.
"They went into a situation where they're going into a hallway, they do it, know what's on the other side of that door, I think that would've been the case whether there was a one-year or 20-year officer," says retired Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante.
He says he learned in the academy that domestic calls and traffic stops are most likely to leave him injured or worse.
"So that was the training 30 years ago and, unfortunately, it's still the same," Ferrante adds.
Just in the last few days — not just the domestic shooting in Harlem — but a Houston officer was killed during a traffic stop.
State police say numbers are from before the pandemic, but domestic clashes have since increased.
One shelter in the state tells News 12 New Jersey calls are up 50% and gun violence cases up in the cities are all adding a strain on police.