Train to de-escalate
Section 8.100 of the Seattle Police Department Manual states: “1. When Safe under the Totality of the Circumstances and Time and Circumstances Permit, Officers Shall Use De-Escalation Tactics in Order to Reduce the Need for Force.”
The situation with Charleena Lyles seems to be a textbook case for using de-escalation tactics: She was armed with a knife, not a gun; she reportedly suffered from mental illness, of which the officers were aware; the officer knew there were children in the house; and the officers were responding to a call for help. [“Mother killed by cops had mental issues, family says,” page one, June 19, 2017.]
The officers apparently held their fire for 11 seconds after they first recognized a threat. Why did they wait if they feared for their lives?
Most important, had the officers been trained to apply section 8.100? Or is section 8.100 merely lip service to mollify the overseers of the Police Department?
Dennis Lone, Woodinville
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Our violent nation
How many thousands will die before Americans come to terms that we live in a very violent country? It is no wonder that millions are suffering from mental illness.
When are our politicians going to stop looking for outside enemies and start dealing with the fact that Americans kill each other at the rate of thousands each year?
It should be obvious that violence only leads to more violence.
George Whitaker, Bellevue