JACK DUNPHY on the folly of police de-escalation. The comment thread seems to be uniformly negative, but I tend to lean toward Dunphy's view. I'm reminded of two expressions, one from my youth:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in that valley.

And one from my two tours in Iraq in 2006 and 2009:

Be polite, be professional, and be prepared to kill anyone you meet.

Judging from the comments, it's worthwhile to be reminded occasionally that police officers spend much of their time in a 'different valley' from the one most of us walk through.