When it is so easy and sometimes justified to abhor official violence by uniformed law enforcement and military personnel, the downside is the temptation to typecast police and soldiers as cruel oppressors. Life should be so simple!
We have extensive contact with the police here at Charles Horn. We were aghast at the violent death of Officer Melissa Schmidt last August and deeply shocked and puzzled by the bizarre actions of Martha Donald who was herself killed in the exchange of gunfire. Ordinarily our interactions with law enforcement are a lot less stark and we have instead a reasonably warm and familiar relationship with those who protect and serve in our vicinity. Apparently we are to have cadets from the community policing program as replacements for Burns' guards falling victim to funding shortfalls in Minneapolis public housing. I don't know who thought of this as a remedy to our gaps in security coverage but they deserve our thanks. Not only do we get to breathe a sigh of relief on the merits of having continuing security coverage, we also get to know the new people who will be in close contact with communities (community policing, right!) and we have quite the diverse communities and many experienced "communitarians" as assets for these cadets during their training. Police Lt. Gregory W. Reinhardt and Nurse Michelle Gross show us that they are thoughtful and caring people in sometimes horrible circumstances. This is clearly a good thing - more, please, and let's do what we can to get rid of the horrible circumstances that test everyone's humanity. Fred Markus, Horn Terrace, Ward Ten, in the Lyndale Neighborhood --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.488 / Virus Database: 287 - Release Date: 6/5/2003 TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
