Published: Monday, November 9, 2009
OFFICER'S TRIAL
Threshold for shooting not met
It is good that Troy Meade will stand trial for the killing of a fellow citizen. Shooting an unarmed man in the back is a travesty and not to be tolerated, regardless of who did the shooting.
We prosecute and jail guilty street thugs for doing the same and this should be no exception. A view of the scene (in the paper and in person) shows that the reportedly inebriated driver (Meservey) was really going nowhere. Blocked from behind by a patrol car and in front by a fence and a building beyond that, it would have been a challenge for anyone to have escaped, let alone a very drunk person in a car with low clearance.
Rather than emptying his service revolver into the man's back, a few rounds into the car's four tires and the radiator would likely have accomplished the objective and would have at least provided some time to block any further progress.
You see, here in the United States we don't kill people for being drunk, we don't even kill them for attempting to drive drunk. We should not kill them even if they are drunk, resisting arrest, attempting to drive drunk, and running into a fence; even after we are tired of it, have deemed it to be “enough” and decided it was “time to end (it).” Not even if we have a badge.
Meade may have an exemplary record but that really doesn't weigh much against the act of killing an unarmed citizen without an immediate threat to the life of anyone. As long as people like Meade are on the street with a badge and a gun we are all in danger.
Alan Zylstra
Everett
We prosecute and jail guilty street thugs for doing the same and this should be no exception. A view of the scene (in the paper and in person) shows that the reportedly inebriated driver (Meservey) was really going nowhere. Blocked from behind by a patrol car and in front by a fence and a building beyond that, it would have been a challenge for anyone to have escaped, let alone a very drunk person in a car with low clearance.
Rather than emptying his service revolver into the man's back, a few rounds into the car's four tires and the radiator would likely have accomplished the objective and would have at least provided some time to block any further progress.
You see, here in the United States we don't kill people for being drunk, we don't even kill them for attempting to drive drunk. We should not kill them even if they are drunk, resisting arrest, attempting to drive drunk, and running into a fence; even after we are tired of it, have deemed it to be “enough” and decided it was “time to end (it).” Not even if we have a badge.
Meade may have an exemplary record but that really doesn't weigh much against the act of killing an unarmed citizen without an immediate threat to the life of anyone. As long as people like Meade are on the street with a badge and a gun we are all in danger.
Alan Zylstra
Everett
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