COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Central Ohio police officers were involved in three shootings in the past week -- with the most recent incident occurring Saturday night.
Are officers being confronted with more aggressive and armed suspects?
Two of the recent officer-involved shootings were fatal -- and in all cases, police believe the officers were justified.
In one of the incidents, the man who was killed shot and wounded an officer first.
"It seems to be like people are taking on the police. We've had eight police officers shot or stabbed in the line of duty in the last two years here in Columbus," said FOP President Jim Gilbert.
Police are trained to use lethal force if they or the citizens at large are in danger of being killed.
Police stress that every situation is unique, but inaction and waiting for someone with a gun to make the first move isn't an option.
Eric Brill is a retired Whitehall police officer who was seriously wounded in August 2001. His partner, Terry McDowell, was killed.
The officers were serving a citation to a woman for driving without a license when the woman's husband shot McDowell through a door and then came after Brill.
The situation exemplifies how quickly everything can go wrong.
"In my situation, I saw the gun right when it was brought up to me. There was no way I would have ever even got my hand on my gun in time," Brill said.
"I'm concerned as a union president. I'm concerned as a fellow police officer. The citizens should be concerned," Gilbert said.
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