It is great to be back in Maine for the summer and once again a subscriber to your outstanding newspaper.
I found very interesting in the July 24 issue the separate articles about (1) a shoot-out in Massachusetts involving three local officers and a state trooper and an armed driver of a car that had rammed a cruiser, in which that driver died from gunshot wounds, and (2) the article about the man arrested in Northport in connection with a very serious domestic dispute.
In the latter case, the suspect was reported to have called 911 three times on Sunday night, “screaming at the dispatcher” that he “had a gun … and threatening to assault law enforcement.” A lone Waldo County sheriff’s deputy, Arthur Smith, arrived on the scene. When the man refused to get down, after a chase Deputy Smith subdued him with his Taser.
They used to say in Texas: “one Ranger, one riot,” meaning a sole Texas Ranger could handle the situation, whatever it might be.
The same can be said for our law enforcement officers, and without offering any comment on the Massachusetts situation about which I have only the limited description found in the Associated Press report, I commend Deputy Sheriff Smith for his courage and restraint in handling a very difficult situation alone.
Steve Hudspeth, Andover
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