Police Shootings

Once again we're seeing how quickly some of our police officers and border patrol agents resort to the lethal use of fire arms instead of using non-lethal methods of apprehending or getting control of suspects. Yesterday a police officer shot a 12 year old boy who had a toy pistol. Was that really necessary or justified?  Michael Brown in Ferguson may indeed have been physically attacking the policeman while he was sitting is his patrol car but the policeman had no reason to fear for his life. All he had to do was call for back up and stay in his vehicle..He claims he wasn't carrying his Taser because it made him feel "uncomfortable". So he decided to shoot Mr. Brown? Even then he could have shot to wound instead of shooting to kill. Border Patrol agents almost routinely shoot fleeing suspected aliens with total impunity. No one disputes that law enforcement officers have a dangerous job but the decision to kill someone who has not, or is not committing a life threatening crime can't be justified. It's far better to lose control of a suspect- even allowing the suspect to escape rather than killing them.