Haunted by man’s death

I’m haunted by Jedadiah Dellmer’s death. I can’t forget the tragedy of a returned combat veteran, obviously suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, being killed by a barrage of deputies’ bullets. He needed psychiatric treatment, not death.

My late husband was a decorated combat veteran, drafted in. He was the most well-adjusted person I’ve known, but he would never talk about the war or watch war movies.

Thirty years after his discharge, we were in a restaurant when a glitch in the music sound system caused a high-pitched shriek. He and two other men jumped up, hit the floor and covered their heads with their arms. After 30 years, he was still haunted by an incoming missile sound.

We can’t even begin to imagine what horrors our kids experience in combat.

Many of our veterans roam the streets, homeless, because their minds can’t return to normal after combat. We let them down after ruining their lives. Shame on us.

As for our deputies: A bear, lion, etc. can be subdued by a tranquilizer gun, why not a human? Why is it “shoot to kill” in our town?

Sally Jackson

Spokane Valley