Galen Carroll: Police officers have a dangerous job, which you’re welcome to record

Re “Police shootings are frightening” (Letters, March 15): Police shootings are frightening. By the sounds of the letter, I should be afraid of myself and the heroes I work with every day.

Rarely has someone been shot by the police for complying. This year, approximately 9,955 people have been shot in the United States, resulting in 2,526 deaths and 5,075 injuries. That equates to approximately 132 people being shot per day.

Police officers, who try to quell the violence on our streets, are put in an unwinnable position by the prevailing ignorance surrounding officer-involved shootings. Since January, five officers have died due to ambush shootings. At least eight others have been shot and dozens more shot at.

In Modesto, police came in contact with over 173,000 people and the department was involved in two officer-involved shootings, both of which involved suspects who either had firearms and/or shot at officers. As a citizen, your odds of being shot by the police based on those numbers are 0.0001 percent. Please feel free to record our actions; we do as well and don’t mind extra witnesses. Finally, work with us to keep the community safe and please comply with lawful directions of our police officers so we are all safe.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Galen Carroll: Police officers have a dangerous job, which you’re welcome to record."