They Should Become Peace Officers, Not Wardens of Death

Utah police officers shot and killed three unarmed individuals in the last six months. Thinking such a thing should be rare, three raises our eyebrows. Yes, it does make us wonder if officers are taught to shoot to kill. Are they taught: "Stay within the legal limits, but if you are going to be able to say that you believe lethal force was necessary to save yourself, then, by all means, you can shoot to kill."

Maybe "you can" is okay, if it is just pointing out legal rights, but it should be tempered with the warning not to shoot to kill if it is not necessary. Life is too valuable, even if the life is that of a criminal, for us to be killing each other just because a law gives permission. So, if officers are to be taught they have the right to kill, the teaching should be peppered thick with the additional teaching of just how valuable live is. Officers should be taught that the legal right to kill is not the moral right. They should be taught that if they can see they can stop the offender without killing him (or her), then that is the much preferred option. Preserving life should be taught ahead of the taking of life. They are becoming a peace officers, not wardens of death.

"Life is valuable, and we mean all life," the officer should be told in the training. "Shooting to kill is not your first option. If you can stop the person -- maiming him -- then, by all means, do so."

James Bond was a movie. And license to kill is fiction.