LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Guns for defense only

OPINION:

Like civilians, law-enforcement officers possess deadly weapons only to defend themselves or others (“Timeline of Justine Damond shooting,” Web, July 21). Questionable killings by police officers, such as the Damond shooting earlier this month in Minneapolis, require that police academies and any implicit “warrior” culture to be examined. Only combatants under the laws of war may legally initiate killing, and even then they may only kill armed enemy combatants, never civilians.

MICHAEL STRUTZEL

Alexandria