OPINION:
Earlier this month in Salt Lake City, a mentally disturbed man died after fighting police. Enough of the lunacy already.
After 40 years of working as a paramedic across the country, I can assure you that no one wants to see a person in crisis die. At the same time, it is not reasonable to make getting murdered at work some required part of the job description.
Every police officer has an unquestionable right not to go home in a box at the end of his or her shift.
The officers involved in the Salt Lake City incident were merely trying to get control of a fast-moving, volatile situation. They were trying to stay alive while tussling with a deranged man who repeatedly grabbed for their guns. What were they supposed to do — hand the guns over?
No wonder they can’t find people who want to be police officers anymore.
Most places are already dangerously short-staffed when it comes to police officers, and we can expect things to get much worse. Let me spell it out: “dangerously short-staffed” means that when you dial 911, there aren’t enough officers to cope with all the calls and you end up having to wait — or worse, have no one at all show up to help you. Because who in their right mind would want this job?
JAMES P. HILTON
Athens, Georgia
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