Loss for words

POLICE COMMISSIONER Charles Ramsey is a meat-and-potatoes guy, accessible and unpretentious. We like him for that.

But we wish that when he reacted to the news that the man who killed Officer John Pawlowski was still alive - "He wasn't hit enough. That's the only thing that matters" - the chief realized the moment called for his being a leader, not just a man.

Who can fault any human for thinking that a ruthless thug who took the life of a cop is better off dead than alive? But civilized society demands we act better than that, and it's the job of our leaders, including those in law enforcement, to remind us of that.

Imagine if the doctors at Albert Einstein Medical Center, where the shooter was taken, had said, "We tried to kill him on the operating table but he's still alive."

Besides, Ramsey's sentiment sends the wrong message to a police force that has had problems with use of force. His statement could be construed as giving permission to shoot first and ask questions later.

We hope the police commissioner, who, like the rest of the city, is grieving Officer Pawlowski, gets around to acknowledging his understandable but poor choice of words. *