Give police non-lethal ammo
Can someone explain why the police need to have lethal rounds be the first response to all conflicts? There are non-lethal rounds (rubber bullets) that can be fired from normal pistols. There are also non-lethal rounds (bean bags) that can be fired from shotguns. How come the first few rounds fired aren’t non-lethal?
This would not stop lethal rounds from being used if dire circumstances exist, but it would stop tragic actions like what happened to Dylan Noble from being virtually routine. You know the drill. Police shoot and kill unarmed suspect. Police say they felt their lives were threatened. The district attorney says police were justified. Families scream injustice from pain and grief. Society picks sides and mistrusts or justifies police actions.
Why can we not do something to change this cycle? Most law-enforcement officers are hard working and protectors of the peace. But when did pulling your wallet out become a death sentence? That has happened in Minnesota and Fresno. In both of those circumstances, those men would be alive if non-lethal rounds were used. It seems like something that we can do.
Mike Enos, Fresno
This story was originally published July 9, 2016 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Give police non-lethal ammo."