Deadly force
Having more than 50 years of law enforcement experience, I would like to respond to the “No accountability” letter published April 25 (Your Views, Tribune-Herald).
Police officers are required to qualify with their issued firearm at the very least on an annual basis. When on the firing range, officers are taught and trained to shoot “center mass” and the head area only.
Officers are not taught or trained to shoot at the arms or legs of an armed suspect because this does not stop the threat all together from potentially killing another human being.
In the movies, there are a lot of Annie Oakley sharp-shooting exhibitions on just wounding the “bad guys” and stopping them in their tracks, but in reality in a life and death incident, a trained police officer, once he draws his firearm, is justified to use deadly force to stop the threat — period.
There have been numerous cases documented where the suspect armed with a knife was shot center mass (torso) and continued stabbing the victim until they were eventually killed. In this situation, the officer involved in this shooting had no recourse or choice but to use his firearm rather than a taser to immediately stop the threat of a knife-wielding suspect from seriously harming or stabbing to death the other juvenile girl.
In essence, this officer should be commended for his actions because if he had hesitated for a split second, there probably would have been two deceased victims and not just one.
Prentiss Moreno
Hilo
Honua Ola is needed
I have rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, so I believe in solar.
My electric bill for rainy, cloudy March was high, like not having solar panels. The same is expected for April.
What could have happened without the electricity generated from fossil fuels?
No power from solar? Rolling blackouts? What will happen when Hawaii weens itself off fossil fuels, we are heavily dependent on solar and the rain clouds roll in? Will we be unable to recharge our EVs like the days of no fill ups during gasoline rationing?
Solar proponents such as Life of the Land state they can supply electricity cheaper than Honua Ola Bioenergy’s wood chip burning, but what good is a cheaper product if it’s unavailable? If the competitive bidding process were to examine dependability as much as price, would solar be disqualified from consideration because it can’t control the clouds?
Solar and bioenergy are excellent alternatives to fossil fuels. But Honua Ola can provide dependable electricity, rain or shine, even through months of bad weather. Until the solar industry can guarantee electricity 24/7, we will always need energy producers such as Honua Ola for security and insurance.
Is it in the public interest to block a sure thing such as Honua Ola? No, it’s in the public interest to have solar and bioenergy. Why is Life of the Land fighting and not welcoming Honua Ola as a teammate in the effort against fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions?
Hawaii Island needs Honua Ola Bioenergy’s dependable electricity. Complete Honua Ola Bioenergy!
Glen Kagamida
Hilo
