Curious decision

Mon., April 21, 2014

I’m trying to understand how Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Jack Driscoll could come to the conclusion that the shooting and killing of an unarmed hit-and-run suspect by police officers last August was justifiable. From what I’ve read and heard in the news, the man was unarmed and was using his pickup truck to ram vehicles in the Salvation Army parking lot.

Yes, a motor vehicle can be used as a deadly weapon, as the deputy prosecutor noted. But surely there must have been other options to disable the man and his pickup, such as having police officers move in and shoot out the vehicle’s tires, or firing a tear gas canister into the cab of the pickup, rather than having four officers open fire on the suspect and kill him.

In my opinion, the officers’ response to the situation as I understand it just seemed to be totally unnecessary and excessive.

Michael Adams

Spokane

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