Cop-Killer Bullets

* Regarding your editorial, “High-Tech Killers,” July 7:

Once again The Times bites the bait on the phantom cop-killer bullet. There is no Lone Ranger with phantom silver bullets, and there are no handgun cop-killer bullets waiting to be developed. Think about it--there is just not a broad enough market out there to make it worthwhile.

Before you bite this stale bait again:

* Check the percentage of times an LAPD vest failed to stop the penetration of a handgun bullet.

* Call the folks at Second Chance who make their vests. Ask them if they know of any (handgun) bullet materials that their vest systems can’t stop.

* Try not to skew the stats by including vest penetrations made by rifle bullets and ice picks, which regretfully cannot be stopped.

JOHN F. HILL

Huntington Beach

* Re “Postal Workers Held in Slaying of Supervisor,” July 10:

Given this past weekend’s events I re-vocalize my call for a ban on guns for U.S. postal workers. This notion will offend the National Rifle Assn., I am certain, but violence in the workplace is everybody’s concern. Perhaps a commemorative stamp honoring those fallen in the line of postal duty would be a bit tacky and insensitive but nonetheless valid.

Now this proposal would mean more work for the guns and ammo shops that would be screening ex-cons and postal employees but I believe our lives are worth the extra efforts.

It doesn’t take an expensive government study to conclude that drinking and driving don’t mix, nor does it to conclude that postal workers and guns don’t mix.

KEVIN S. KANTOLA

Laguna Beach

* Watching the young woman on TV news get shot down by Kern County deputies made my blood boil (July 6-7), especially seeing one deputy with a shotgun hovering over her, waiting to blast away again. Yes, she apparently was armed, but did she come out of the van shooting? No, her movements appeared tentative and fearful (with good reason!).

The tendency today is for police to shoot first and ask questions later, if at all. In my opinion, an official negotiator should be present to try and defuse the situation before blood is shed on either side. The woman was not given even 30 seconds to respond to their commands; she instinctively tried to hide, probably out of fear.

Something is sadly wrong with police training programs today; much of the police violence we see is unnecessary, and often police-inspired. God help America.

DEAN EMERSON

Newport Beach