Pepper-spraying officer did nothing wrong

Regarding the recent fight at Chesapeake High School ("How much force is too much?" Dec. 16), while it is unfortunate that some non-combatants suffered non-lethal inflammation and irritation, the fact of the matter is that they were in the vicinity, (and no doubt cheering on the fight) and suffered what is known in combat as collateral damage. Stay out of the combat zone and suffer no injuries.

Regarding the altercation itself, what would you have the officer do when his lawful commands had been ignored multiple times and the combatant continued to willfully disobey to the point of escalating the conflict? Having been an educator for over 15 years and having been in that very position more than once, let me assure you, it's no picnic. Don't kid yourself, it could be a gang situation and the crowd could turn on you in a heartbeat. Then, things would really turn out badly because the next level of force is not pretty.

Perhaps the editorial board could leave their ivory tower and walk a mile in the officer's and administration's shoes, my guess is that they might have a slightly different perspective.

Craig R. Piette, Reisterstown

The writer is a teacher at Hannah More School.

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