Letters: Retrain police; save black lives

In New Jersey, a suspected terrorist gets in a gunfight with law enforcement, and injures two policemen. Yet, he goes to jail alive. That same week, the vehicle of an unarmed black man is stalled in the street in Tulsa, and he is shot and dies in the hospital. In Charlotte, a black man is shot and killed after it is said that he had a gun.

As an African-American man, I find it sad that it can cost us our lives if someone just says “gun” around police. So why is it that people cannot understand San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest during the national anthem?

I would love for those who aren’t black to try to understand where we are coming from: I, a soldier and college graduate, can be shot and killed just because of the color of my skin. Our police need some serious training so this senseless killing can end. Let’s live in peace, not chaos.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Letters: Retrain police; save black lives."