Officers don’t shoot suspects to kill

I read Herman Lenz's letter with difficulty ('Charge officers who shoot the unarmed,” May 13). Lenz suggests all officers should be charged with a crime any time they shoot an unarmed person. I disagree.

Iowa law allows the officer to shoot to prevent serious injury or death to the officer or another. If a pro boxer, MMA champ or NCAA wrestler were attacking an officer, anyone easily could articulate the use of deadly force against these 'unarmed” people. Officers are not Olympic athletes nor martial arts experts. They are given some training in a multitude of areas, including defensive tactics and firearms.

As far as them 'shooting multiple times with the most deadly kind of bullets to kill rather than stop,” as a firearms instructor, I must point out that all bullets are deadly. I believe Lenz speaks of hollow-point rounds that are meant to expand in the body to stop the threat quicker and reduce over-penetration. Officers are not trained to shoot to kill but rather to stop the threat by shooting multiple times to center mass or the upper thoracic cavity.

Keep in mind that the officer on scene has but a split second in a chaotic, dynamic and rapidly devolving scene to decide whether to shoot. About 70 percent of officer-involved shootings occur in lowlight situations, which may make it difficult to determine what is in the person's hands. Also the officer only has to be objectively reasonable given the totality of the circumstances. Humans do make mistakes.

Finally, studies have shown officers hesitate too long and too often. Perhaps because they are afraid of being vilified by letter writers and so-called experts such as Lenz.

David Winger

Independence