Denver Post

Policing deadly force
By Todd Engdahl

Sunday, August 10, 2003 - The shooting of a woman by Aurora police last week has raised again the issue of police use of force.

Incidents such as the death of Denise Michelle Washington and the July 5 death of Paul Childs in Denver often spark predictable patterns of reaction.

Community activists, clergy, police commanders, politicians, police union officials, newspaper columnists, talk-show hosts, editorial writers, federal prosecutors and even out-of-town celebrity lawyers all say many of the same things they said the last time.

Eventually feelings cool, some changes may be made, perhaps someone is disciplined and the issue drops from the headlines - until the next time.

There's no question that some tragic shootings by police can be avoided by policy changes, training, better accountability and creative use of non-lethal methods of control. And, people certainly should continue to speak out after such incidents.

But there's probably also no question that some tragedies are unavoidable; no pages of policy nor hours of training can prepare anyone for the split-second dynamics of individual confrontations.

This week's Perspective attempts to add some fresh voices to the discussion. While no one expert has the perfect answer, we hope professors Joseph Sandoval of Metro State and AnnJanette Rosga of CU-Boulder provide you with additional food for thought.

We also welcome your opinions via our Open Forum. Information on submitting a letter to the editor is on page 2E.