I think it's only fair for law abiding citizens to expect to survive an encounter with the police. If a police officer is going to bring a gun to a situation where one is not needed, then the onus should be on them to accept more risk of death than is expected of a law-abiding citizen. Generally speaking, they're paid to do a job, and that job unfortunately currently involves the risk of death in the line of duty. That risk cannot be reduced at the expense of innocent people dying needlessly 'just because' an office might be shot. There are many jobs a person can do if they're not up to the dangerous environment some police depts have to work in.
In what situations are guns not needed though? I wouldn't even dream of doing anything other than manning a booze bus in a place where people are allowed to legally carry guns if I didn't have my own one.
It doesn't seem like the choice for most American cities is between armed cops and unarmed cops. It's between armed cops and no cops. Why would anyone sign up and expose themselves to that level of risk?
