Roy Middleton was just getting a cigarette out of his mother's car in a quiet Pensacola neighborhood where some residents don't even bother to lock their doors. So why was he suddenly surrounded by police who were shooting at him?

Middleton was shot--in his own front yard--by Florida police deputies who evidently thought the sixty-year old man was breaking into the vehicle. They hit Middleton in the leg and sent a spray of bullets all over the neighborhood, including five into Middleton's mother's car. The two deputies did not even ask Middleton his identity or if he lived at that address before commencing fire. Their penalty? They are on paid leave.

Clearly, these trigger-happy policemen have not gotten the message that shooting first, asking questions later is not acceptable police work. Tell the Florida State Attorney's Office to dismiss them and charge them with reckless endangerement.