CHARGE DRUG DEALER IN OFFICER'S SLAYING

It was reported in the media that convicted felon Shane Mark, the suspect in
the killing of Honolulu Police Officer Glen Gaspar, was on illegal drugs at
the time of the shooting. It is unfortunate that we do not yet have laws
that can charge his drug dealer as an accomplice to murder.

There is a basic principle in life that you are responsible for your actions
and the consequences of your actions. Until we remove the shield that
protects drug dealers from the consequences of their actions, this kind of
human tragedy will continue. We need to begin to view drug dealers as
terrorists.

Too many decent citizens in our society have suffered physical, emotional
and mental pain caused by actions initiated by illegal-drug dealers. It is
time our legislators debated the issue of making drug dealers more
accountable for their actions. Everyone in our society is vulnerable to the
deadly actions of crazed drug users and their suppliers.

Also, there is an old adage that is applicable here and that is: If you are
not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. From
cocaine-snorting executives of major corporations to homeless heroin addicts
who lurk in the shadows of our alley ways and to all those people in between
who use illegal drugs -- none of them are as far removed from this crime as
they may think. Their invisible fingerprints are on the trigger of the gun
that killed Officer Glen Gaspar.

Carlino Giampolo