Letters: Blendon Twp. officer who killed Ta’Kiya Young shouldn't have step in front of car

What highly trained police?

In his September 13 guest column, Fraternal Order of Police Executive Vice President Brian Steel makes a solid case for the need of evidence to prove a point.

My only issue with his stated position is that there is no evidence that the Blendon Township officer who stepped in front of the car and ultimately shot and killed Ta’Kiya Young was “a highly trained police officer."

No highly trained police officer would have stepped in front of the car and pulled out his gun during an already contentious, potentially volatile situation.

His actions only fueled the fire. Following the dog debacle in which a Circleville officer released a dog to attack a young, fearful man following a police chase, Gov. Mike Dewine called for better training for officers statewide.

That needs to happen soon.

My experience has been that Ohio State Highway patrolmen are effectively and efficiently trained as evidenced by their consistency in approaching and resolving of contentious and volatile issues without the loss of life.

Perhaps modeling that training will keep Ohio out of the national news for the wrong reasons.

Dwayne Jackson, Gahanna

A decision not to get out of way

Letter to the editor writer Greg Wourms' insightful comments about guest columnist Terry Gilbert's piece on the Ta’Kiya Young shooting by Blendon Township Officer Connor Grubb are well-taken.

More: Highly charged language does more harm than good in Ta’Kiya Young police shooting| Letters

Gilbert does use rhetorical device to advocate his position in this matter, much the same as Fraternal Order of Police Executive Vice President Brian Steel does in his column published the same day as Wourms' letter.

I wonder if Wourms would also cast his critical eye on the Steel column and share his comments about the "highly trained police officer" who had to make a split-second decision."

I am not a cop, but the "split-second" decision I would have made in Grubb's position would have been to get out of the way, and if I was as "highly trained" as he was I would not have walked in front of the vehicle to begin with, with my gun out - I assume because he had a reason.

Thoughts, Mr. Wourms?

Harry Reinhart, Columbus

More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

Smack in face of Steel and Wourms

Excellent guest column by Brian Steel giving evidence regarding the police-involved shooting of Ta'Kiya Young.

Evidence that has been omitted in previous printing and media reporting: evidence that race had nothing to do with the incident, and that the officer’s life was in danger.

The opinion page also printed a good letter from Greg Wourms.

However, smack in the middle on the same September 13 opinion page, the Dispatch reprinted a photo of Young’s casket with a caption, the same picture that made front page on September 9.

Reprinting that photo was a smack in the face to Steel and Wourms opinions. It was the Dispatch saying, “We’ll print your words, but we have control.”

Carmen Sauer, Columbus

What if Ta'Kiya Young were a white woman?

In the State of Ohio shoplifting is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by fines up to $1,000 and jail time up to six months.

If, the initial response was for said shoplifting, then why does body camera footage from the shooting officer initially show him approaching the vehicle with his weapon drawn and his finger just off the trigger?

Since when does shoplifting merit such a heavy-handed approach?

Was the idea behind a drawn weapon to show force and intimidation? There was no evidence at the time that a violent crime had occurred.

In his recent guest column, Fraternal Order of Police Executive Vice President Brian Steel states that this "highly trained" officer made a split-second decision about whether he was about to be run over.

I'm just wondering, is it normal procedure and training to position oneself in front of a running car with a driver behind the wheel?

Also, the officers own body camera shows him moving TOWARDS the vehicle as it starts to move as if to impede her potential getaway.

If one feared for their life, wouldn't they move away from the danger?

Furthermore, even if Ta'Kiya Young had succeeded in driving away from the officers, why couldn't they have just let her go and get her license plate number?

Amelia Robinson: Shoplifting shouldn't have escalated to death in Ta'Kiya Young police shooting

They could have then gone inside, gathered the facts and evidence from the store and then went to her house to arrest her. Yet it's clear from all videos that they chose to escalate the situation leading to her death.

We can all agree that this situation was yet another unnecessary tragedy in our community.

Brian Steel and so many others can say it wasn't racially motivated, but I think many of the facts force us to at the very least ask, "If this were a white woman being accused of the same exact thing, in the same exact scenario would they have handled it differently?"

Michael A. Thompson, Grove City

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Police officer who shot pregnant shoplifter clearly not 'highly trained'