Deadly Force

Tuesday was kind of a busy day for me. I got shot when I interceded in a domestic dispute, then I was attacked by a knife-wielding vagrant, then I shot a robbery suspect but didn't see his partner, who took me out with a shotgun. Then I went to lunch. I guess I should start at the beginning. I was on my way to the police academy in Elysian Park for a video-simulator training session on deadly force, when I heard on the radio that eight current and former officials from the city of Bell had been arrested in the ongoing corruption scandal.

In 2007, the Bush administration set out to double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol. It was a tall order and called for some creativity, with the Border Patrol even sponsoring its own racing vehicle at NASCAR events as a recruitment tool. Because recruits were hard to find, Border Patrol - part of the Department of Homeland Security - also lowered its standards and training regimens were relaxed. Individuals without a high school diploma could already join the force, but background checks were also deferred.

When a burglar carrying a bag of stolen car stereos swung it at Greyston Garcia's head, Garcia swung back with his fist - in which he clutched a kitchen knife. Garcia recovered the bag, which held his own stereo, and went home thinking he'd seen the burglar run away uninjured. But the burglar later died and, months after the Jan. 25, 2011, confrontation, Garcia was facing a second-degree murder charge in a Miami-Dade County courtroom. Garcia claimed self-defense, citing Florida's 7-year-old “stand your ground” law, which is also at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting case.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck is under fire from his civilian bosses, who increasingly are troubled by his reluctance to punish officers they found had killed or wounded people unjustifiably. "If this pattern continues, it could undermine the entire discipline system and undermine the authority of the commission," said Robert Saltzman, a member of the Police Commission and associate dean at USC's law school. "It runs the risk of sending the message to officers that there will be no consequences.

SANFORD, Fla. -- Two new polls in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting show divergent views among black and white Americans over whether the unarmed black teenager's shooting was justified, and show that most residents believe they should have the right to use deadly force if their lives are threatened. Both polls were conducted by Reuters/Ipsos. In the poll on the Feb. 26 shooting , 91% of black Americans surveyed said that the fatal shooting of Martin by Sanford neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was unjustified.

Re "O.C. Police Shoot 2 Men to Death After Armed Confrontations," May 12: With so much violence in the world these days, is it so shocking to see that two young men were slain by the protectors of our society? Yes! I, for one, find it appalling that the police force of Fountain Valley finds it acceptable to use deadly force against a 23-year-old man wielding a knife. I certainly hope that those two officers receive the punishment they deserve. How can we explain to the family and friends of this young man that it was acceptable to terminate his life out of fear of a 3 1/2-inch blade?

A summary of four shooting incidents involving LAPD officers: 1 West Valley March 9, 1996 Time call came in: 9:15 p.m. Nature of call: Assault with a deadly weapon. Number of suspects: 1 Summary of incident: Suspect flees scene. A high-speed pursuit is called off after 45 minutes for safety concerns. Police reengage suspect when suspect enters a cul-de-sac. When suspect sees pursuing officers, he attempts to ram his vehicle through a wrought iron gate.

A coalition of immigrant and human rights groups Friday urged Congress to investigate the Border Patrol's use of deadly force against rock throwers along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the frequency of such confrontations is disturbing and inhumane. The request came three days after an agent in San Diego fatally shot a 40-year-old Tijuana man suspected of injuring an agent by throwing rocks and a nail-studded wooden board. Such incidents typically lead to demands for congressional scrutiny, but Congress in recent years has not taken up the issue.

The Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot a day laborer in Westlake was previously found by the department's watchdog arm to have used improper tactics in 2008 when he shot and wounded a man in the leg, authorities said Friday. Officer Frank Hernandez shot then 18-year-old Joseph Wolf on the morning of Dec. 12, 2008, according to an LAPD statement from the time and a civil rights lawsuit filed this March by Wolf's attorneys. The suit, pending in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses Hernandez of improperly using deadly force.

Re "A 'Less Lethal' With Lethal Results," by Steve Lopez, June 27: Would someone please explain why several police officers couldn't disarm a 100-pound, middle-aged woman without shooting her with a beanbag? After a lifetime of these kinds of stories, going back to the Eulia Love incident in Los Angeles, I have concluded that there is something wrong with the training that police officers receive. All too often, their use of deadly force is out of proportion to the actual threat they face, and somebody ends up dead.

SANFORD, Fla. -- Two new polls in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting show divergent views among black and white Americans over whether the unarmed black teenager's shooting was justified, and show that most residents believe they should have the right to use deadly force if their lives are threatened. Both polls were conducted by Reuters/Ipsos. In the poll on the Feb. 26 shooting , 91% of black Americans surveyed said that the fatal shooting of Martin by Sanford neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was unjustified.

HOUSTON -- A spate of shootings in Tulsa, Okla., appears connected to the two-year anniversary of the slaying of a suspect's father, police said. And on Monday, prosecutors released new information about the handling of that case. Jacob "Jake" England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, have been jailed in connection with the recent shootings and are being held on about $9-million bail each. The men face charges of murder, shooting with intent to kill and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.

When a burglar carrying a bag of stolen car stereos swung it at Greyston Garcia's head, Garcia swung back with his fist - in which he clutched a kitchen knife. Garcia recovered the bag, which held his own stereo, and went home thinking he'd seen the burglar run away uninjured. But the burglar later died and, months after the Jan. 25, 2011, confrontation, Garcia was facing a second-degree murder charge in a Miami-Dade County courtroom. Garcia claimed self-defense, citing Florida's 7-year-old “stand your ground” law, which is also at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting case.

Harder than it looks Re " Making connections ," Column One, March 21 Making connections by teaching elders to use computers is a wonderful idea. However, I seriously object to the "sensitivity training" given to the university students in preparation for their teaching experience. Simulations - using props such as earplugs, gloves, tape and diapers - do not provide a sense of the "lived experience" of being older. Many in the disability community reject these simulations as demeaning.

It has been called "obscene," "stupid" and the "right-to-commit-murder law. " It has also been credited with protecting people like Sarah McKinley, a young widow who killed a knife-wielding man after he broke into her Oklahoma home. Opinions about so-called "stand your ground" legislation - at the center of the Trayvon Martin killing in Sanford, Fla. - are as vastly different as the cases in which it has been invoked since Florida in 2005 became the first state to adopt such a statute.

There are good reasons why the killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black youth who was shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer while walking through a gated community in Florida, has attracted national outrage. Martin, who weighed 140 pounds and was unarmed, was slain by a Latino man named George Zimmerman, who had been pursuing Martin through the neighborhood, outweighed him by more than 100 pounds and was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun. Yet Zimmerman claims that he acted in self-defense - and local police initially agreed, saying they didn't have enough evidence to charge Zimmerman with a crime.

A coalition of immigrant and human rights groups Friday urged Congress to investigate the Border Patrol's use of deadly force against rock throwers along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the frequency of such confrontations is disturbing and inhumane. The request came three days after an agent in San Diego fatally shot a 40-year-old Tijuana man suspected of injuring an agent by throwing rocks and a nail-studded wooden board. Such incidents typically lead to demands for congressional scrutiny, but Congress in recent years has not taken up the issue.

Two of the Arab world's most ruthless leaders have moved to crush revolts threatening their power in Libya and Yemen as security forces and thugs intensified attacks on dissidents and protesters dug scores of fresh graves amid the rattle of gunfire. The unrest convulsing the region has swept through the two police states, where deaths have climbed past 100 and demonstrators have grown fearless against tear gas and bullets. But even if the scenario is similar to the narrative played out in the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, it is far from certain whether demonstrations can dislodge Libyan President Moammar Kadafi and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.