There have been numerous incidents of police shootings or officers drawing their weapons, such as in Woods Cross and in Ogden, about which I would like to comment.
First of all, I am in complete agreement with the families, and especially the parents of people who have been shot by police officers, and understand that they should take legal action against the city and police department involved in the shootings if there is probable cause for such action.
But my second point is about the police officers themselves. The officers in all of these incidents were trained to use deadly force when they feel they or any other person is in danger of injury or death, and must take such action without hesitation, literally in a split second, knowing that the courts and platoons of attorneys may take months or even years to decide if the action was correct.This conclusion comes from my own training and experience as a police officer in California many years ago. I fully understand why an officer would take such action, for I took that same action many times, myself. I was lucky that my quick action saved me from ever pulling the trigger.
Then, finally, we all need to remember the families of those officers. While their loved ones are doing a completely necessary job for their communities, they live in fear that their officers might not come home alive after end of watch some day.
Ted Livingston, Salt Lake City