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One of the best things about working for a newspaper is that it allows us to pursue our curiosities as far as they’ll take us. You can get a story out of anything, if only you think to ask questions and take notes.

By the same token, the job also forces us to meet our presumptions head-on and figure out if we’re right or wrong — or somewhere in between. We all have things we just believe. But the more we believe something just because, the more questions we should ask ourselves.

The pursuit of such truth led one of our colleagues to the Chesterfield County Police Academy last month.

In recent years, we’ve read story after story about police officers shooting suspects. The easy reaction has been to say, “Why don’t they shoot to disarm?” The police are trained marksmen, after all. Can’t they aim for a hand or a leg instead of the heart every time?

We asked that of a friend who works for the county police department. Instead of answering, she offered something else: an afternoon of lethal forces firearms training, the same course every county police officer participates in every year.