Stand united against violence

To the editor:

The heinous murders by gunfire of two New York City police officers while sitting in their patrol car and of a third officer in Florida responding to a loud music complaint, leave my heart heavy.

On Dec. 18, I wrote an article ('Cost of racial profiling and policing practices”) addressing the loopholes in our criminal justice system and where we as a nation need to go together. It never occurred to me that just few days later I would be addressing the other side of loss and the dire need for change in attitude.

These killings bring to focus the dangers that police officers face each day while on duty. With 300 million guns in circulation in America, this threat is real. In 2014, 114 police officers died in the line of duty including 46 by gunfire. In 2013, 105 were killed including 30 by gunfire and 52,000 were assaulted.

As America mourned with the families of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and John Crawford and demanded transparent investigations, we now mourn the fallen officers and demand thorough investigations of their deaths. We must not let our grief for any of the fallen divide us. We must stay united at challenging times and work together to improve what needs to be improved.

With all the national concerns/tensions regarding the interaction between law enforcement and the public, these killings cannot be tolerated or justified. We need to band together to solve existing problems non-violently. We must come together and heal.

Shams Ghoneim

Iowa City