Letters to the Editor — Police Shootings, Politics, LBJ, Greed and Power, Work Ethic

Officers have an advantage

Subject: “Officers spoke with man before fatal shooting – Video shows authorities spoke with suspect for nearly an hour before he died,” Tuesday’s Metro & Business article.

Regardless of the circumstances, it is always tragic when a police encounter with a person in crisis ends in that person’s death. Cody Watkins was alleged to have committed domestic violence and was living in a tent in a wooded area. He was armed with a knife and refused to comply with repeated requests from three police officers to drop the knife and leave the tent.

The report states that Watkins crawled out of the tent entrance with the knife in his hand, according to a body camera. Two of the officers then fired several shots at Watkins, causing fatal injuries. In his statement, Dallas Police Chief Eddie García said Watkins ran out of the tent entrance with the knife.

So which is correct? Did he crawl out of the tent or did he run? There is a big difference.

The scenario that played out was three police officers with guns facing off against a man with a knife. The police officers have the advantage. I have often wished that police departments had a “shoot to incapacitate” option in their training. It could be used when the officers have the advantage, their lives are not in immediate danger, and other methods of subduing a person have failed. In such cases, “shoot to kill” seems overkill.

Fred R. Neary, Far North Dallas

Political courage

Subject: “Obama should tell Biden the truth,” by Talmage Boston, Tuesday Opinion.

I think it is an impertinence for Boston to say that Obama had the courage to ask President Joe Biden to resign.

For the record, I agree that Biden should step down. He has had four outstanding years as president and I appreciate his service to this country, but it is time to pass the torch.

What I find appalling is that Boston fails to mention the Republican Party’s lack of courage to stand up to Donald Trump since 2016. Trump, a convicted felon, is running for President of the United States, and who in the Republican Party has had the courage to say he is unfit to be President?

I have a suggestion for Boston’s next presidential history book: Chapter one should be the moral surrender of the Republican Party to Donald Trump.

Betsy Crawford, University Park

The lesson of LBJ

Subject: “Texan wants Biden’s resignation,” Wednesday news report.

The article about U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett’s call for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race ends with a history lesson about the dignity of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s withdrawal from the 1968 election. The full story was not presented.

With LBJ’s withdrawal in March 1968, the Democratic Party plunged into chaos and Nixon was elected. Does LBJ’s withdrawal seem like a good idea? A Biden withdrawal a month before the convention would be even more chaotic and would almost certainly guarantee a Trump victory.

Margo Ways, Denton

Words with five letters

Call me old, stupid, or un-American. I don’t care. On Independence Day, I was sitting at my kitchen table reading a real newspaper, and I realized what was wrong with America: It’s two five-letter words: greed And Performance.

Examples of July 4th business headlines include: 1) “GM fined $146 million by federal government.” This speaks for itself, due to corporate greed and government (the term is used loosely here) stupidity and overreach.

2) “Dallas approves Knox project: The plan calls for further densification of the district with three towers of different sizes and uses.” Why? Do we really need this? No. Greed and power.

3) “Prosper Arts District on Heritage.” What? This is a 35-acre site with three hotels, hundreds of apartments, extensive retail and creative office space to be developed by a technology entrepreneur whose only idea of thrive is to continue exploiting the country and making millions of dollars.

4) “New homes are part of a mixed-use plan” (in Grayson County near the community of Dorchester). The 678-acre site is planned to house 2,156 homes and the usual amenities. Sherman will soon be part of DFW’s metropolitan excess. Again, it’s about greed and power.

What a great example the US government has set here. I don’t care who wins the presidential election, I don’t believe anything or anyone other than God Almighty can save us now – not more concrete expansion, bitcoin mining, or AI computer nonsense that consumes precious electricity that people need just to survive.

I pray that next year my children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to celebrate a real Independence Day. In the famous words of radio host Earl Pitts, “Wake up, America.”

Randy Norris, Mesquite

Officer’s work ethic

Subject: “Overtime pay exceeds $140 million,” news report, June 30.

I don’t usually follow articles about the city of Dallas because I live in the suburbs. However, the article about overtime pay caught my attention. How come Dallas paid out $140 million in overtime pay? The article cites “demand and fewer employees.”

I am impressed by one employee who took advantage of these facts and managed to earn more than $300,000, with more than half of that going to overtime pay. Sergeant Robert Salone decided to “just work” and earn the extra money.

I am a former HR manager whose job involved recruiting. One of the first things I looked for in a candidate was work ethic, a trait I could usually see in the first few minutes of the interview. This was always a deciding factor for me. My philosophy was: if you have the work ethic, we can work with you. Otherwise, the candidate was put on hold.

Kudos to Sgt. Salone. Your hard work and determination paid off. Dallas is lucky to have you on staff.

Kay Wrobel, Plano

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