Police shouldn’t shoot to kill
I want to say something about the shootings in North Carolina, South Carolina and other places across the country.
I originally come from Suffolk County on Long Island. I’m a native. We were protected by the Suffolk County Police Department, a wonderful and well-trained organization.
When an officer took his gun from his holster, he had to write a report. He never had a bullet in his gun. If he put a bullet in his gun, he had to write a report. Rarely did an officer fire his gun.
When a police officer was in danger, he was told to shoot the person in question in the leg — immobilizing him — not put 15 bullets in his back as he was running away. Shooting him in the leg would have kept him from running away. Dead people cannot talk. The value of not killing someone is to get information from them that could possibly help in other investigations.
I think other police departments can learn from the Suffolk County Police Department. Thank you, guys.
Kathleen Parks, formerly of Sayville, Long Island, New York
This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Police shouldn’t shoot to kill."