Letter: Wapato police acted as best they could in shooting
The “stark parallels” of the Martinez Torres case to the Zambrano-Montes case (TCH, Aug. 10) should be a clue that the police in Wapato acted as best they could under the circumstances. As unfortunate as any killing is, it is high time we all recognize without reservation that police officers cannot when faced with a violent person hold a debate as to whether they should shoot or not.
The Commission on Hispanic Affairs could be more productive by educating the Hispanic communities how to respond, or not to respond, when encountering police, e.g., do not get violent.
Why should a man or woman even become a police officer if he or she will go to work every day knowing that he or she may at any time be faced with instantaneously choosing between dying or potentially facing criminal charges?
Eventually, if we as a society remain on our current course, the occupation of police officer could become so undesirable that we could easily come to the point where we cannot recruit enough men and women to fill the police ranks. Then we can expect to hear complaints from the civil rights community that minority areas are under-policed.
William R. Clarke, Richland
This story was originally published August 26, 2016 at 4:31 AM with the headline "Letter: Wapato police acted as best they could in shooting."