This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I am a retired police officer (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police). I am getting tired of people assuming cops shoot people because they are black! I have shot and killed one person in my career, and, no, the man was not black, brown or any mix thereof! He was a wealthy plastic surgeon, one who married a girl about a third his age! He wanted a cheap divorce and planned on killing her and her roommate.
My partner and I got in the way. The doctor tried to fast draw on me and shot himself in the calf. I could reach out and touch him. I shot second, and last!
I went to church when I could and never wanted to kill anyone. I suffered from PTSD for years and went through panic attacks for decades. I had multiple heart attacks. The last one made me retire early! The average cop lives five years after retirement, less if he or she was a supervisor.
Alonzo Passmore
South Jordan