Re “Video released of police shooting” (Oct. 16): After reading about the police shooting, I watched the body cam video SDPD posted on Facebook. In it, officers chase a man clothed only in shorts, who is having a mental health emergency. One officer, using a command voice (with profanity), is trying to get the suspect to surrender. That not working, they send in the police dog. Officers shoot bean bags at the man, who aims his aerosol flame at the dog, at which time four officers rush in and fatally shoot the suspect five times.
Officers put their lives on the line daily and have tough choices to make. Yet I feel that there could have been a different outcome. De-escalation, negotiation or calling in a crisis intervention team could have helped.
If we are to live up to the ideals of being America’s Finest City, we must strive to have better outcomes.
— David Comden, Point Loma