Use of Deadly Force Is Out of Proportion

Re “A ‘Less Lethal’ With Lethal Results,” by Steve Lopez, June 27: Would someone please explain why several police officers couldn’t disarm a 100-pound, middle-aged woman without shooting her with a beanbag? After a lifetime of these kinds of stories, going back to the Eulia Love incident in Los Angeles, I have concluded that there is something wrong with the training that police officers receive. All too often, their use of deadly force is out of proportion to the actual threat they face, and somebody ends up dead.

I support police officers. They have a dangerous, thankless job. But when things like this happen, when they kill people in situations like this, it’s hard not to turn against them.

Don Howard

Oak Hills

I am a reserve officer and take great exception to Lopez’s column regarding the Long Beach woman who died as a result of the use of a “less lethal” device. While her death is a great tragedy, there are simply no foolproof methods of disarming a knife-wielding suspect.

Lopez suggests an officer should have rushed her and “risked a cut or two.” How about a cut to the throat, or perhaps a permanently disfiguring slash to the face, Mr. Lopez? Is that an acceptable risk to you? What if the officer were your wife or son? The suggestion that once officers are deployed at the scene they become mindless automatons is insulting. Officers constantly evaluate the situation and seek alternatives. The beanbag shotgun has saved dozens of lives in similar situations. It is not, unfortunately, infallible.

Clifford Weiss

Los Angeles