Letter: Police officers, recruited from the..

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

The controversy regarding the shooting in Missouri doesn't discount the fact that, reminiscent of what happened in Florida, a man with a gun got involved in a situation that escalated to a point where he felt threatened and believed he had no recourse but to shoot and kill a young, unarmed teenager. This time, the shooter was a peace officer.

Whether this case results in a murder charge or a finding of self-defense, the reality is that a young man is dead. Worse, initial police response to public outrage only exacerbated an already bad situation.

It would be unfortunate if these types of incidents create or perpetuate a long-term level of distrust between police and the citizens they are charged to protect and to serve.

Though I support the brave men and women who wear the uniform, a comment by former Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker regarding alleged police brutality is appropriate here: "We'll always have problems like this because we have one big problem in selecting police officers. We have to recruit from the human race."

Gary D. Ruiz

Murray

Letter: Police officers, recruited from the human race