Non-lethal options
EDITOR: My wife and I have three sons, and our hearts go out to the Lopez family. The tragedy of Andy Lopez will not go away, nor should it. Something positive must come from it - perhaps changes in how our police officers are trained and how they are helped with the enormous stress their job must have. The deputy involved must be devastated by his actions and wish he could turn back time to that fateful day.
We give our officers many options and resources to protect citizens and themselves - a police car equipped with sirens, loud speaker, radio, weapons and, I assume, bulletproof glass. An officer has the opportunity to wear a bulletproof vest, call for back up, bring in a helicopter, SWAT team, bomb squad and even a police dog if necessary.
These officers are given a license to kill, and they need to be trained to use every other possible option before making that awful decision. It cannot be taken back.
RICHARD SMITH
Santa Rosa
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