Hypothetically ... Pt. 2

This interesting letter to the editor appeared in The Daily Yomiuri on June 26, 2008. The author makes a good point ...

Police officer should have shot Akihabara assailant

News reports are labeling Police Sgt. Takashi Ogino, the policeman that caught and arrested Tomohiro Kato on June 8 in Akihabara, as an unsung hero.

Kato at first resisted arrest and was able to slash Sgt. Ogino's protective vest three times with a dagger before the officer pulled out his revolver, which made Kato drop his weapon.

The Metropolitan Police Department is calling Sgt. Ogino's actions "textbook perfect." Yet, a police officer possessing a gun, a baton and a third-degree black belt in judo still got slashed three times by Kato's dagger.

Kato had already stabbed one officer in an attempt to kill him, and I am sure he wanted to do the same to Sgt. Ogino. If Kato was able to get close enough to the police officer to slash him three times in his vest, Kato might have been able to stab Sgt. Ogino in the face or neck, too.

In this scenario, Kato might have gotten the opportunity to take the sergeant's revolver and cause even more destruction and murder.

Kato was murdering people in broad daylight, and Sgt. Ogino should have taken out his revolver and used it first and taken down Kato right away.

Sgt. Ogino is no unsung hero, just a very lucky police officer.

Andrew Van Goethem

Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture