Shootings show jail needed

My sister’s dad, Mike Northway, was the Spokane County sheriff’s deputy who pulled over Charles Wallace on Tuesday. He was shot four times and had to go through multiple surgeries on his arm, femur and pelvis. So when I turned on the news and found out that the man who he pulled over for erratic driving had already been convicted of 15 felonies and multiple misdemeanors, yet had been let out for drug rehabilitation, I quickly turned from worried to livid. Someone convicted of drug, theft, driving under the influence, eluding officers and more should not be able to walk around Spokane. I wonder what our judges were thinking. And if this is about limited jail space, the taxpayers in Washington should put themselves in my sister’s shoes. Instead of complaining about our police force, maybe they could bear a tiny increase in taxes to assist the officers risking their lives for the very people complaining. After all, people spend $8 to see “The Avengers” instead of giving that money to the real heroes out there — our police force.

Julie Kostelecky

Spokane