Whether force is ‘necessary’ isoften unknown till after the fact
Re: “California use-of-force bill advances: AB 392 would make it easier to file criminal charges against officers” (Page B3, April 12):
AB 392 is flawed. Evaluating whether or not force is “necessary” in a situation often cannot be determined until after the fact.
A suspect points a gun at a police officer or a citizen and threatens to shoot. The officer attempts to de-escalate the situation with less-than-lethal force to no avail. The officer shoots the suspect. That would be reasonable — what another officer with similar training and experience would do in the same or similar situation.
During the investigation, it is determined the gun is not real and could not fire. The shooting of the suspect would not be necessary.
The solution to these officer-involved shootings is compliance by the suspect.
John StretchMartinez
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