Compelled to come to defense of officers

I have never felt such a strong need to respond to a letter before.

Concerning the death of Mr. Garcia, the man who was Tasered by police and subsequently died: How did he die? Was it the result of the Taser or the fact that he was possibly drunk and high on cocaine?

I can't help but wonder if the "slow-speed chase" had ended with the death of an innocent bystander- maybe your son, daughter, husband or loved one- and not running into the backyard of someone's house, possibly then your response would have been, "They should have stopped him immediately at any cost."

Yes, he resisted arrest, and yes, he should have obeyed the authorities. Had he done so he might still be alive today.

There was a real possibility that he might have had a weapon in the car with him. I would rather the officers used the Taser than have to read about a dead police officer.

The Taser is a nonlethal weapon, much safer for the criminal than a gun. And yes, Garcia was a criminal- refusing to pull over for the officers, running stop signs, crashing into a home, purposefully ramming a police car, use of alcohol and drugs, etc.

As for your comment, "What about the second man that was mowed down by police a few hours later?" I was appalled and shocked by your statement.

The guy crashed and flipped his car and stepped into the street in front of the officer who had no time to stop. The officer was on his way to the police station at the end of his shift after spending many hours protecting you, me and Simi Valley. Did you ever think how this affected the officer involved? Evidently not.

How would you feel if you were the one that hit him through no fault of your own? By your attitude you would probably say the guy deserved it.

Yes, we are in Simi Valley- one of the safest cities in America due to the outstanding police officers who patrol this city.

My advice to you is, get the facts before making uninformed conclusions to something you obviously didn't know anything about.

Also, if you ever need help, don't call a Simi Valley police officer- after all, you wouldn't want to be Tasered or "mowed down."
Judie Barr
Simi Valley