A police force without deadly force
The sad incident which occurred on a Minneapolis street this last week
rightly caused us to question the need for deadly force when confronting the
mentally ill. The question should go further. I believe the technology of
non-lethal subduction is nearing the point where we need to ask whether the
use of deadly force by city police is really necessary in any case. At some
point an American city is going to take the step of putting deadly force
behind them. That city will lead the nation into a more humane future.
Imagine a time when the mission to protect and serve would not be put into
question by a police officer’s requirement to make a split second decision,
causing fatal and unredeemable results. Our police need to be able to protect
themselves, but how often are their lives put in danger by the desperate and
ill who act in ways that exhibit a death wish?
Understanding that it is the responsibility of the police to protect the
public and to bring criminals to justice, the death of anyone by their fire
arms is always unfortunate. Hollywood movies aside, their aim should never
be more than to subdue those who are criminal or dangerous.
Science has given us the technology to greatly extend the methods of non
lethal subduction. It can also be used to do comparative analysis of the
effectiveness of both lethal and non lethal methods, and if non lethal
methods are not yet proven to be equal then at least it will point the way to
accomplishing this goal. The first step is actually making it a goal to make
deadly force a thing of the past. How about it Mayor Rybak?
John Van Heel
Loring Park
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
