OFFICERS WERE NOT USING EXCESSIVE FORCE ON SUSPECT

The News-Leader and KYTV should be ashamed of themselves for the manner in
which they presented the information and the "free-lance video" of the
apprehension of a dangerous subject. As I watched the lead anchorwoman
parlay the information the night the video was aired, I could sense that
she had already made a condemning judgment against our police officers and
their actions.

It is a disservice to the men and women of the Springfield Police
Department to air a video that, to the lay community, appears to contain
actions of excessive force. To the officers who have had to handle subjects
tweaking on methamphetamine before, they know how dangerous these
individuals can be. And remember, this subject had already fired at an officer.

I can hear the moaning and whining of the hemp sandal wearers and the civil
rights groups now, as well as the civil attorneys' feet shuffling in an
effort to be the first to represent this man, hoping of course to further
fatten their wallets.

To those who plan to write and cry about excessive force, I would suggest
they consider a few things prior to doing so:

First, the officers used textbook techniques in attempting to control this
subject and to get him into handcuffs. The anchorwoman who described the
officer as "striking the subject several times" should have further relayed
to those watching that the officer was using a technique known as the
brachial stun. This technique allows police to take control of a subject
without hurting them.

Secondly, using K-9 as a control technique is universally accepted and
lessens the officers' chances of getting hurt, which should always be of
primary concern.

Finally, and this is very important (so those of you in a drug-impaired
altered state of consciousness with protest sign in hand listen carefully):
when a subject who has been ingesting meth and has fired a weapon at police
is given a command, that person had better comply. The video clearly shows
the suspect push two Special Response Team officers backward at the point
at which handcuffs were being applied. This is called resisting arrest.

The citizens of Springfield should be proud of the job our police
department does. They don the uniform daily and step into harm's way to
protect us. Let's tell them we are proud of them and thankful for their
presence. After all, if they weren't there, do you think we could call the
ACLU or the public defender's office to take control of an armed and
dangerous subject?

Allen Layton, Springfield, is a Webster County commissioned patrol officer,
who works in Fordland.