Linda Hicks, a 62-year-old Toledo resident, was murdered by Officer Diane Chandler of the Toledo Police Department.“Murder” is the only suitable description for the entirely needlessshooting death of Hicks,  a group home resident who suffered fromschizophrenia, depression, and hypertension.

Someone at the domicile made the fatal mistake of calling the policeto report that Hicks had a “weapon” — a pair of sewing scissors.

When Chandler and Officer Rebecca Kenney arrived, Hicks was prone onher bed. When she refused to remove her arms from beneath a pillow,Chandler attempted to induce “pain compliance” by shooting the womanwith her Taser, but the cartridge malfunctioned. Chandler then pressedthe electro-shock torture device directly against Hicks’s skin tooperate it in “drive-stun mode.”

Not surprisingly, this assault enraged Hicks, who reportedly got offthe bed and said, “I’m going to kill you or you’re going to have tokill me.” Chandler then fired her gun at least four times, killingHicks.

There are two elements of this story that deserve special attention.The first was the exculpatory comment by Chief of Police MichaelNavarre that Chandler, like the rest of his force, is under a lot ofstress because of recent lay-offs.

“It’s a difficult job out there,” Navarre told the Toledo Free Press. “Officers are being stretched to the limit.” The lay-offs supposedly have made criminals more “brazen,” he insists.

That assessment implicitly suggests that the stressed-out police are going to be more “brazen” in the use of lethal force.

More noteworthy still is the fact that Diane Chandler is “certifiedwith crisis intervention training,” which should provide her with somemeans other than lethal force to handle a mentally ill senior citizenarmed with sewing scissors.

“[Chandler] thought her life was in danger,” insisted Chief Navarre by way of justifying the shooting. Really?

Since Chandler could get close enough to Hicks to operate the Taserin “drive-stun mode,” couldn’t she and her partner have immobilized thewoman long enough to take the scissors away? Weren’t there objects inthe room — furniture, blankets, pillows — that could have been suitableto offer a shield against a pair of sewing scissors? Aren’t police given unarmed “combatives” training, and supposedly paid to take a few risks?

None of that matters, apparently. Linda Hicks is dead, DianeChandler killed her, and within a few weeks we’ll all but certainly betold that Chandler’s actions were in accordance with “departmentpolicy.”

Once again: Unless you’re willing to see someone be severely injured or killed for no defensible reason, never call the police for “help.”