The twelve year-old boy sat in the playground of a local park. He was playing with a gun. No one knew if it was real or not? After the police arrived, he refused to follow their directions. He sat in the long grass watching the police.

Previously, there had been a phone call from a concerned local "He's waving a gun around and pointing it at people."

The police acted swiftly on that phone call and cordoned off the street with yellow tape. Again, the police called to him to "drop the gun." Instead of doing as he was asked, he stood up and reached into the back of his belt.

They thought he had another gun stashed. A negotiator was not employed to talk to him. The child was a mute.

No Taser was used, four shots rang out and the child dropped to the ground - dead. Later, the police found two plastic guns on his small body.

Why didn't they Taser him? And again, why didn't the police aim for the lower body like the legs? They went for the kill-shot. Now there is mother and father without their small son.

Shame on you, young police officer. A coronial enquiry into the shooting of the young boy is still in progress.

The same scenarios - shooting a so-called felons has happened over the last four weeks. Shoot first and ask questions later? Well, there is no later for the dead.

A TV research employee was parked on the side of the country road, in his company car. He was approached by a distraught man, his hands covered in blood; to call the police because he had killed his wife and wanted to 'give himself up' - the police took too long to reach the offender because there was a black spot and no cell-phone signal.

The man was getting more and more agitated. Suddenly, he jumped into the car and took off, leaving the TV research man standing on the side of the country road. Later, he related his story to the police, telling them the man was deranged and covered in blood and that he felt that he was lucky to escape attack by this person.

A high speed chase ensued and the man crashed the car into a steel pole at a service station. He jumped out, laughing, refused to get down on the ground and after being warned, was shot dead. Again, where was the Taser?
The man was bi-polar and had little control over his make-believe world. Shoot first, ask questions later? The dead can't speak. Eventually, it was discovered that the man had been certified sane after attending a hospital and being tested for his mental stability. He had killed a chicken because he was hungry.

A call came in to 000 emergency services. "There's a man running naked and waving a sword!" At the time, I lived not far from the shopping centre where this event unfolded on Christmas Eve.

The summer heat was unbearable that year - arguments and fights broke out all over the domestic scene. By the time the police had cordoned off the street, the young man was going house to house shouting for people to come out. Doors slammed like piano keys being hit. He was wielding a Samurai sword. A terrifying sight for the residents.


At least a police negotiator was on the scene and tried, without success to talk some sense to the young man - they even bought him a pizza. The siege went on for four hours. Finally, the young man rushed the police, waving his sword; he was shot dead in the street. Why didn't they use a Taser? His mother informed the police that her son was bi-polar and had been off his meds.

Guns have their place on the shooting range, not in homes. Police need to slow down and not shoot to kill, especially a twelve-year old boy. Aim for the legs at least.

Australia's gun laws are strict - no hand-guns or rifles without a permit. You can't just waltz into a gun shop and buy any sort of gun. Of course the police are armed and well versed in the use of weapons; spending hours of practice at the shooting range. Carrying a pistol or handgun is counted as a concealed weapon. Handguns can only be used on a shooting range with a permit.

Of course we don't have the shootings that America experiences - especially school shootings, the worst scenario. I respect the police, we need their protection, so do mentally disturbed people and drug addicts. When you consider that the police have the upper hand in these situations, is death the ultimate answer?

We as a nation have a wonderful police force but lately, the evidence rests on force. Of course the police are at risk, I think we can do better. Aim for the legs, use a Taser. Fancy pumping four bullets into a child?