Did They Have to Shoot?

Becoming a parent really does change your perspective on things. And there’s no way for me to look at that picture of police taking Miriam Carey’s 18-month-old daughter–the same age, roughly, as my own daughter–out of her bullet-riddled Infiniti without wondering if it was really necessary to shoot an unarmed mother.

Others are asking the same question. Obviously, police would be careful after the Navy Yard shooting. And it’s not clear that they did anything wrong. Still, it’s also not clear that Miriam Carey needed to die to end the situation. I’m not trying to make this about race, or police brutality–just asking a question that troubles me.