Police Shootings

Once again, this time in Garden Grove, a drug-addled citizen is dispatched by “peace officers” attempting to control him (April 1). In the same issue of The Times we read that San Jose police will be issued stun guns in May, joining similarly equipped forces in Sacramento and Phoenix. Why are not Southern California police officers issued such devices? Consider the many thousands of dollars awarded as a result of wrongful-death suits brought by aggrieved family members. Would not those funds be better spent providing appropriate equipment to our police force, or is it that bullets are relatively inexpensive?

Louis H. Nevell

Los Angeles