Readers sound off: Cops are hired to serve and protect, not hide from danger

Letters and Facebook comments edited for clarity and grammar:

The argument made by law enforcement instructor Tim Vogt in his column, "It's sickening to call cop in school shooting a coward," does not wash. He essentially argues that unless we have been in a similar position, we are not qualified to comment on the actions of the officer who neglected to enter the high school in Parkland, Fla., during the shooting. The school resource officer accused of dereliction of duty was not dragooned into police service, but chose to serve and protect of his own free will.

He collected a tax-payer provided salary in the expectation that he would do the duty for which he volunteered and was trained. He let down the community he elected to serve, a community that had every right to expect proper performance. The cost in innocent lives of his irresponsibility was felt by those he deserted.


Source: usatoday