It used to be that all you worried about as a parent when you sent your child to school was a fire. Nowadays, our children practice fire drills regularly and we haven't heard of a fire in a school in a long time.

Unfortunately, we have heard a great deal more about violence in the schools. The Columbine incident brought concerns about school violence to a new level.

School resource officers must face unique issues on a daily basis. Since when is it OK for us as citizens to tell police officers what is appropriate gear for them to carry? (Do we tell our dentists what equipment they need or how to do their job?)

Tasers provide officers with yet another force option when faced with an unruly student or, worse, an armed student. First and foremost, all officers try to defuse situations verbally.

When that doesn't work, Tasers give them another option before they must resort to deadly force. Tasers cause momentary discomfort; bullets cause death.

SROs and all police officers need to carry Tasers as they attempt to do the tasks set before them each day. They need our support, not our criticism!

B. L. Woltz
Greensboro