Letter writer Art Shefrin says there was no excuse for a teen to run from a policeman who yelled at him to stop ("Teen at fault in pellet gun shooting," May 2). That might be true if he knew it was a policeman, but according to the reports I saw, the police were plainclothes officers in an unmarked car. They jumped out brandishing guns and yelling at him.
Even if the boy heard clearly that they claimed they were police, why was he supposed to believe it if they did not stop to show identification? They could just as easily have been criminals trying to rob him. Of course, his first impulse would be to run, and once he was being chased the natural tendency would be to go on running.
People are forever making excuses for the police working in fear in dangerous neighborhoods. What about the fear of people who live there?
Katharine W. Rylaarsdam