Hold police accountable
Re: “Learning From Ferguson — Events just one brick in wall of mistrust,” Tuesday Editorials.
Thank you for your editorial recognizing that the problem of excessive force by police against black and brown people is broader than Ferguson.
What I believe many conservative, pro-police critics overlook is that the Ferguson shooting is not an isolated case but a pervasive problem, as shown by the nationwide protests, including many white faces in the crowd.
White establishment voices see this as an us-vs.-them issue and have a knee-jerk reaction that if the police shoot somebody, they must have a good reason. However, the reason there is so much outrage about this problem across racial lines is that it typifies the lack of accountability of police for the use of deadly force.
Lawyers are accountable to the State Bar and can be subjected to discipline and loss of license for actions much less severe than taking someone’s life. Doctors, accountants and other professionals are likewise accountable if they screw up.
Police, on the other hand, are protected by a patchwork of police review boards and friendly prosecutors, who rarely punish or indict cops for excessive force. And when they do, as in Dallas, the cops almost always get the action reversed. This problem must be corrected.
Jim Barber, Dallas
Criminal activists get a pass
How can law enforcement sit by and blatantly watch criminal activity such as looting, arson and shutting down of major highways, thus seemingly condoning this activity? Everyday citizens get ticketed for going 5 mph over the speed limit, for jaywalking, for fishing and hunting without a license.
If we torched our neighbors’ house or stole appliances from a store, would the police with their military-type arsenal turn the other way? I think not. Where is the justice? Apparently there is no justice, depending on who is doing the criminal activity.
America boasts that we have the best, finest legal system in the world, but nothing is perfect. It’s flawed, this is life, deal with it. There is good and bad in every profession but no excuses for activists brought into cities stirring up violence going unpunished.
I believe this is sending the wrong message to law-abiding, tax-paying citizens that police will not tolerate our misdemeanors but will not further ruffle the feathers of criminal activists. So sad, but only in America.
Alfred Hersh, Carrollton