Just days before he was shot and killed, a Baton Rouge police officer posted an emotional Facebook message, saying he was “physically and emotionally” tired from being both a police officer and a black man.

“I swear to God I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me,” Montrell Jackson wrote.

Friends and family of Jackson were mourning the 10-year-veteran of the police force whom relatives described as a “gentle giant” and a “protector” after he and another two law enforcement officers were shot and killed on Sunday.

Jackson said while in uniform he gets nasty looks, and out of uniform some people consider him a threat.

“I’ve experienced so much in my short life and these last 3 days have tested me to the core,” the post read.

“These are trying times. Please don’t let hate infect your heart,” Jackson wrote.

Lonnie Jordan, Jackson’s father-in-law, described his son-in-law as a “gentle giant” — tall, stout and formidable looking, but with a peaceful disposition, saying he was “always about peace”.