On Sunday, we had a tragic shooting here in Coeur d'Alene by the Coeur d'Alene Police Department. By any standard, the death of a human being is a tragedy and this was no exception. Someone lost a brother, a son, a friend, a coworker, and it causes unimaginable pain for those left behind. I want my position on that crystal clear because what follows in this letter some will consider insensitive.

The headline of Tuesday's followup article referred to Mr. Johnston as a "shooting victim" and I am tired of seeing that phrase misused by the press. Victim is a word generally used to refer to someone free of personal cause for a misfortune befalling them. With all due respect to the deceased, it is worth noting that he drove intoxicated on the same streets I and thousands of other folks also drove on to the county fair that night. Drunk driving is an activity that kills over 10,000 Americans every year and is extremely dangerous to the public in general, and to the residents of Kootenai County specifically. He had prior arrests for this dangerous action, and in fact that night lost control of his vehicle and had an accident with property damage. Then, when law enforcement arrived he did not behave as a citizen, but apparently took up a deadly weapon in response to the police.

While reading the article, I was disappointed by the printing of various speculative comments by people who were not witnesses as though they were factual and accurate and the reference to a law enforcement officer as a "the shooter" - a phrase commonly used to refer to someone criminally using a gun. The cumulative effect to me was an article clearly intended to characterize our local law enforcement as heavy handed and I take a very great offense to that.

Every person in this county is the beneficiary of our excellent law enforcement. It is because well trained men and women strap on their gear every day and patrol our streets that we can relax and enjoy life, sleep at night, and sit on the beach with our families. The police agencies in our area are owed a lot more respect than that article showed - a lot more. Having to use deadly force on someone is their last resort and they are well trained to do all they can to avoid it. Printing an article that in the complete absence of any evidence attempts to portray law enforcement as the bad guy is intentionally divisive in my opinion. It makes people who read the article wonder if there is something amiss, it makes the community question the motives of our police officers, and it makes law enforcement's job much more difficult when their honor is questioned because they work very hard for their respect. It is needlessly inflammatory, and read like an article intended to break down our community's sense of what is right and what is wrong.

I would like to ask David Cole what the title of his article would have been if Mr. Johnston had hit and killed a Kootenai County family instead of running into a telephone pole that night?

I am disappointed that David Cole wrote the article in such an obviously slanted fashion, and I am disappointed in the Press for printing it. I personally am going to wave my arm out the window to every single police cruiser and officer I see for the entire month of September so they know the public respects them and appreciates what they do for us every day. I urge any readers who feel that way to do the same. I guarantee you will get a wave back from our hard-working officers, and will make their day.

Doug Miller is a Hayden resident.