Apply combat rules

I have a simple solution to the recent increase in Spokane law enforcement shootings. Each officer should be given the exact same instructions our volunteer Army troops are expected to follow on a routine day in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wait until the enemy fires on you first, then show restraint while you call your up-line supervisor and ask for permission to return fire. If it is determined to be small-arms fire, ignore and keep driving.

By training Spokane’s sheriff and police in these already established guidelines that our military employs now, we could eliminate speculation by the public about whether or not our “finest” are trigger-happy thugs, seeking paid administrative days off so as not to use their own vacation time, or if a 2-liter pop bottle and obsidian knife constitute deadly weapons. As it stands right now, if you even see a police officer, you’d better lay down on the ground, with nothing in your hands, motionless, and pray you have 10 witnesses nearby with videocams rolling. Otherwise, you may never get to tell your side of the story, and he’ll get another notch in his gun.

Mark Bryant

Clayton, Wash.