To the editor:

I want to state that I support our Lawrence Police Department and the sacrifices our police officers make to serve our community.

However, I find it inexcusable that at this stage of law enforcement, with the “experts” we have on staff dealing with surveillance, terrorism and crowd control methods, that we have failed in one simple area. That being the failure to subdue a single distraught person in broad daylight.

Why didn’t our police supervisors think to use a flash grenade while the person was in her home? This is proven to stun and disorient a people who are a danger to themselves or others.

And last of all, was lethal force really necessary? Why did our tactical team not use a sharp shooter to wound or disarm the subject? Why not use the stun gun or a “bean bag” weapon to stun and subdue to save the life of this resident? I don’t want to be an “armchair” officer, but surely our department has procedures in place to address these basics.

Eric Schmidt,

Lawrence