Making sense of the senseless in Bristol

As of this writing, there's little understanding why a Bristol man opened fire on responding police officers late Wednesday, killing two of them and seriously wounding a third. All we know is that this is a tragedy of immense proportions, the likes of which Connecticut hasn't seen in years.

Officials called it an act of “senseless violence.” Gov. Ned Lamont said the shooting was a “devastating reminder of the dangers that police officers face every day.” That's all true, and yet it doesn't come close to capturing the shock and distress such an incident inspires. It's enough to make people think no one is safe.

Gun violence is all too common in this country, but it doesn't affect everyone equally. The Bristol neighborhood where the officers were shot is known to be quiet. “I've never heard a gunshot in my life,” one neighbor said. But with so many guns in so many homes, tragedies are inevitable. It only takes one person to shatter a sense of safety.

Officials have been slow to release information on what might have been behind the shootings, but did say the 911 call that drew police to the home appears to have been “a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene” in Bristol. This is a shocking statement, and one that the public deserves to know as much about as soon as it's safe to provide the information.

According to data collected by the FBI as reported by the New York Times, ambushes have accounted for 10 police officer deaths nationwide in 2022, twice as many as the year before. The same data shows 49 law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty in the first nine months of 2022, compared with 54 during the same period a year earlier.

There is an inherent danger in the job, as the numbers show. To be targeted simply for doing a job as a police officer is chilling, and could lead officers to be more cautious in responding to future calls, which would harm the public. The ramifications of this incident could be long lasting.

Policing has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, but few on any side of the political divide

have questioned the need for dedicated, committed police officers to maintain a sense of order in a community. They provide an essential service, and they deserve the public's support as they go about doing their job.

That means doing more to ensure their safety. Keeping guns out of the hands of people who are unstable is in everyone's best interest, and that absolutely includes police officers. Law-abiding citizens have a right to possess guns, but those rights must be accompanied by scrutiny. The dangers of people having guns who shouldn't have access to them are severe, as we have all seen.

For now, there's so much we don't know. But whatever information comes to light, two police officers are dead and a third is seriously injured. It's a senseless crime under any circumstances. We owe it to their memory to do what we can to ensure it doesn't happen again.

To be targeted simply for doing a job as a police officer is chilling, and could lead officers to be more cautious in responding to future calls, which would harm the public.