POLICE DESERVE RESPECT

This letter is in response to the "Shoot to wound, not kill" letter (Jan.
7). Are you serious? These "human beings" are out there protecting our city
from criminals, and every time they have to shoot someone everybody cries
about how it is a crime. These police officers are not shooting little kids
walking home from school or church, but criminals in our neighborhoods who
are selling drugs and carrying guns, with the potential to "shoot to kill"
you. But you expect the police to do their job with their hands tied behind
their backs. How come the criminals do not shoot to maim or hurt you or the
police, instead of shooting to kill?

Apparently the public thinks police officers are ... expendable. Who cares
if a police officer gets killed, he or she was just doing his/her job. I'll
tell you who cares. Me! How many times has the Jan. 7 letter writer, or
most people in the city, watched their dad or brother go to work and wonder
if that is the last time they will ever see them alive again? I have almost
every day of my life. My father has been a police officer for more than 30
years, and my brother has been one for almost three years. I think it's
time we give these heroes the respect they deserve for protecting us day
and night....

LANCE A. CULVER

Louisville 40258