Police need stronger guidelines

In response to “Man killed by sheriff deputy in Spokane Valley”:

I am once again shaken to the core by a police shooting of a person who does not appear to be endangering the life of another! Today a “shirtless man was acting strange” and running away when deputies told him to get down. When he did not comply he was killed. They said the victim was “reaching for his pocket,” which is what is usually said in these circumstances. Some said he “appeared high or inebriated,” which also is not cause for execution.

Recently I watched a “60 Minutes” piece about frontotemporal dementia, a disease that causes youngish people to act very strange and totally disrupts their life and that of their families. There are many individuals with brain differences that cause unusual behaviors, however most are many times more likely to be victimized than to hurt others.

Recently, when a mother told a policeman that she feared that her “mentally ill” son might be shot by police, he smugly responded, “not tonight.”

We tranquilize dangerous animals and take them to safe refuge, yet human beings are killed on the spot, even when they’re not dangerous to others. When will the “shoot to kill” mandate be reformed?

Ann Kaluza

Spokane