Officers need better training in mental health
Rosalia Hodges, a 59-year-old woman with a history of mental-health issues, was shot and killed by three Orange County Sheriff’s deputies in my neighborhood in June after she ignored officer commands and advanced toward them with a knife.
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In the neighborhood, many of us are wondering why there wasn’t a better solution. This is a nightmare scenario that seems to be repeated endlessly around our nation. As a professional aviator, I’m reminded of the multiple disasters occurring to aircraft in the 1980s and ’90s encountering what became known as wind shear. With subsequent analysis of the weather phenomena and pilot training to mitigate these encounters, airlines have been able to nearly eliminate these fatal accidents worldwide.
Isn’t it time for law enforcement to do the same thing? While I’m disappointed that the officers involved in this shooting couldn’t come up with a nonlethal solution, I also understand that they, like the pilots involved in the fatal crashes above, are merely implementing the training they are expected to employ when encountering these situations. In my view, law-enforcement leadership and management need to come up with more solutions than “shoot to kill” in some of these situations. Several European nations deploy healthcare professionals along with specially trained officers to de-escalate and contain these individuals. This training does happen here, but I believe incidents like this show that more may be needed. Yes, more time in the classroom and less time on the gun range, but far better results. Sheriff John Mina should take the lead and help us find a better solution.
WJ Emmer, Orlando
Is the U.S. a Christian nation?
Editor: It is no surprise that Islamophobia follows Abdul El-Sayed’s win in the U.S. Senate Democratic race in Michigan. I believe it would have been the same if El-Sayed was a Republican instead of a Democrat. Let’s face it: Religion can potentially be a real danger to democracy.
In many Muslim nations, women are treated as second-class citizens. But what about Christian nations? Is the U.S. a “Christian nation?” Look at the attack on female rights and equality here in the U.S. The majority-Catholic U.S. Supreme Court struck down a woman’s right to have total control of her own body with the Dobbs decision. No surprise there since I believe Roman Catholicism treats females as second-class persons. There haven’t been any female popes, cardinals, archbishops or priests. So, as I see it, the U.S. is now in line with many Muslim countries in its treatment of females.
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On top of all that, we are now engaged in a crucial fight in this country to deny white Christian Nationalists in their attempt to take complete control of the U.S. government. So I believe what we now have in the U.S. are cases of Islamophobia and anti-Christianity.
Richard Sutherland, Winter Haven
Trump insensitive toward USS Lincoln sailors
“No, no, not nearly long enough,” Donald Trump said about the length of American sailors’ deployment on the USS Lincoln, which has been deployed for nine months since the beginning of the Iran war. If that isn’t the most insensitive comment I have ever heard from an American president, I don’t know what else is.
Furthermore, for a president who constantly says how wonderful our troops are and seems to be wearing red, white and blue almost each time he appears before the American people, the comment seemed incongruent at best. This incident just added to a list of reasons that the interests of the American people and those who serve us seemingly rank at the bottom of the list for this president. Unfortunately, this type of behavior is supported by many in Congress and we need to turn a page.
Joy Peeler, Mount Dora
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