A grim toll with a common thread

NEWS of the death of Pierce County Deputy Kent Mundell Jr. has the public reeling. One can hardly imagine the emotional trauma within the close-knit law-enforcement community and its families.

They are absorbing the loss — the sixth officer killed in the past two months — as they continue to put on the uniform and have loved ones send them off for another shift to protect the rest of us. Two other officers were wounded in the assaults.

Along with the deepest of condolences to Deputy Mundell's family and his colleagues, there is a simultaneous need to express a heartfelt "thank you" to others who continue to do a tough job with dedication and professionalism.

If there is a common denominator that links the shootings in Seattle, Lakewood and Eatonville, it is fools with firearms. The proximity of weapons to the angry, delusional and addled is astonishing.

Two of the shooters died in circumstances they brought on themselves, and another awaits a full, rigorous determination of legal accountability.

Application of the law, and all its protections and consequences, is separate and apart from assessing how the culture became awash in guns and embraced a mindless proclivity to use them.

A constitutional right to own a gun does not carry a subsequent right to put others at risk, or to amass a personal armory with a lethal capacity beyond some hypothetical need for household defense.

The shocking assault on law enforcement over the past eight weeks suggests uniform officers have become strange surrogates for all the simmering frustrations in the culture and economy. Bitter people armed to the teeth have taken a horrific toll.

In the midst of understandable apprehension — if not fear — sworn officers continue to do their job. Thank you.

We hope the family of Deputy Mundell draws a measure of comfort from the gratitude and respect for his sacrifice.