SHOOTING: Is Cd'A now unsafe?

Having read the article in The Press Friday morning about the officer who shot Eric Johnston, I felt the need to write this letter. Eric was a close friend of my son, and as such, was in and out of my house for many years. He was always polite, quiet, smiley (my daughter’s nickname for him was “Smiley”) and painfully shy. He was a loyal friend, always had a job and was a very hard worker.

His biggest demon was alcohol and driving while intoxicated. He spent many years on probation and riding bikes to get around. It was something he kept hoping he could conquer, but in the end didn’t. I am sure that morning, Eric was terribly frightened and feeling alone, went to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment.

My biggest question here is why Officer Mortensen didn’t just taser Eric? Why did he feel the need to put 4-5 bullets in him? It seems that the only person Eric was threatening was himself! In my mind and Eric’s friends’, it was manslaughter at the least. Eric was a gentle peaceful young man, he deserved better!

I haven’t had a lot of contact with the Coeur d’Alene police, but what I have had has showed them to be aggressive and very rude, on something of a power trip. I have seen some officers who have been kind and approachable, but few. I have respectable friends who have had very distasteful interactions with city police officers. This makes me wonder how effective the psychological exam involved in becoming a police officer is.

Also, how much and what kind of psychological education is included in their training. They make decisions that alter people’s lives, charges that the prosecutor takes as fact, solely based on an officer’s assessment of a situation. I don’t believe they are equipped to do this. And now Eric is dead because of an officer’s bad judgment. He seems a bit over-reactive; why didn’t they talk Eric down, or again, taser him? I no longer feel safe in this town, and I am far from alone.

DAPHNE GOODSON

Coeur d’Alene