By the Tribune-Review’s account, thousands of rounds were expended to get Garfield resident William Hardison to surrender (“Garfield shooter’s instability, extreme ideology likely contributed to violent confrontation,” Aug. 25, TribLIVE). Luckily, no policemen or residents were killed/injured, but the damage to the residents’ peace of mind and their homes is incalculable. When negotiations failed at the “siege” outset, a .50-caliber rifle should have been used to neutralize Hardison. Instead, scores of policemen and vehicles were utilized, at taxpayers’ expense. The policemen’s inaccuracies remind me of an old movie title: “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.”

Gerald F. Mazur

New Kensington

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