I find it fitting that Sol Solomon uses fictional characters as his examples in his Nov. 21 “My Turn” article (“Fictional models for real police officers”) because the opinions expressed have no basis in real life.
Our police officers do not start their shifts looking to escalate situations or hurt people. Police officers are trained on methods to de-escalate situations and do so when possible. When faced with a life-threatening situation police officers are trained to shoot center body mass, a.k.a. the torso, as that is the largest target and the fastest way to neutralize a threat.
Solomon obviously does not have a lot of experience with handguns because shooting someone in the arm or leg “to disable” is very difficult, especially at night and under duress. Police officers are not mind readers and can base their response only on a person’s actions, not their thoughts or state of mind.
At the end of the day police officers want to end their shift and go home safely to their families like everyone else.
ADAM CZARKOWSKI
Penacook