Everett, Wash.
Published: Monday, July 6, 2009

EVERETT POLICE

Is deadly force now the norm?

 The recent shooting of an unarmed man by Everett Police is very disturbing to me. I don't know about anyone else, but I do not wish to live in a community where the police have license to use deadly force on unarmed citizens. Just because it happened to someone else does not mean it could not happen to anyone of us! If we sit idly by and not demand better from our police officers this sort of violent reaction will worsen.

There are factors that we should start to take a serious look at and begin a public dialogue.

Could our current economic pressures be adding to heightened tensions not only between law enforcement and the general populace, but within the law enforcers themselves? (Think not just employment within the force, but spouses' jobs too as being a factor.)

Perhaps someone within the department needs to seriously consider this? As the economy continues to decline these pressures aren't going to lessen.

Also, have we now entered a realm where pre-emptive deadly force is the norm? "You never know, so shoot first and find out after the smoke has cleared!" This aggressive, reactive behavior seems to permeate our society from the top level of government, military and law enforcement. We must understand that lives are more important than property; our materialistic boom of recent years still has a big tug on our mental senses. We should never be conditioned to take another's life in order to protect materialism.

Times are going to get tough, really tough. That doesn't mean, however, that we should be getting tough on each other.

Ron Toppi
Everett
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA