Letters | Trusting the police

LETTER-writer Edward Turner must think his fellow Philadelphians are a simple people afraid to cooperate with police for fear of being called a snitch. But such a simple conclusion is a grave mistake.

Mr. Turner does not have his finger on the pulse of this city or its people. Why should Philadelphians trust their police department and the district attorney's office? How many times have our fellow citizens called in drug corners, vandalism and other transgressions that affect our quality of life, and did not get results? The people do not trust the police.

Perhaps this is because America is a Protestant country. A Protestant will confess his sins straight to God, he does not need a priest. The Protestant mindset can be used to explain what Mr. Turner calls "not snitching": If man cannot be trusted to be my priest, how can man be trusted to be my cop?

Just recently, five police officers were accused of running into a Kensington home and beating a National Guardsman videotaping them from his window. How many innocent people are sitting in jails for years and then DNA exonerates them? How many Philadelphia women and children are victims of violence while their police department hides behind bushes and walls looking to write an easy speeding ticket?

I wonder?

Rick Jones

Philadelphia