How about... benefit of the LAW?

Re:"Give Police Benefit of Doubt" Letter to the Editor, Virginian Pilot, Homer Stinson.

Why do the police need the benefit of doubt? They have the benefit of being police officers. If a policeman shoots a suspect on the street because he 'thought' he might have a gun, the policeman gets a few days of leave and then comes back to work. If a civilian shoots a police officer because he feels reasonably threatened in his own home, he gets charged with capital murder. Where is the justice here? Last time I checked, a person was innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of his peers.
I believe that this man, Ryan Frederick, is genuinely innocent of capital murder. If he was sleeping as he claims, even if the police identified themselves outside, how would he have heard them? Even if he was awake, he had his dogs barking at the door. I have 2 dogs and I know that when they are barking, I couldn't hear the police from 3 feet away, let alone outside.
Besides, why did they need to bust in to get him? Everyone knows that the element of surprise is one of the most important deciding factors of any fight. Why would the police enter a residence of which they are completely unfamiliar when they could hide outside and wait for him to come out. He had a regular work schedule.
Perhaps Chesapeake should re-evaluate its policy on police informants. They lost a good police officer this time and last time (when they shot up the lady's house) they further diminished their reputation. When they are done with that, they should rethink the citizen oversight committee, before their police cause more crime than they stop.