Officers too quick to shoot

In Anchorage recently, a gunman created a standoff with the Anchorage police. He grazed one officer superficially, was wounded in the arm and was captured with no further injuries. There was no loss of life, neither good guys nor bad guys.

In Spokane, we’ve had fatalities inflicted by law enforcement officers when those killed were unarmed and/or putting up little to no resistance.

Officers shouldn’t have to wait until they are injured before they defend themselves, but determining if the suspect is armed before they kill him seems reasonable.

Killing a man armed only with a set of keys should be a wake-up call to our law enforcement community. If a guy with keys charges them, how would a Taser not be the solution to the problem? If the Taser is not effective, they still have the advantage in numbers and are carrying clubs and batons that would certainly disable a key-wielding suspect.

Our police culture seems to support a shoot first, check for weapons later mindset that will always lead to unnecessary fatalities sooner or later. As it is, a guy was denied his day in court because he was carrying a set of keys.

Fritz Stout

Cheney