LETTER: Politicians who want police reform should ride around with a cop
Our legislators all seem to have these great ideas on how to reform our police departments. But the time has come for each and every state, county and city representative to learn what it takes to protect their constituents. I propose that they all be required to ride along with the patrol officers for at least two weeks.
Consider the time an officer spends at an academy to prepare for the job. Legislators get voted into office and go to work, There is no way they could possibly truly understand what it takes to be on the job. But yet here they are all willing to cut budgets, downsize and just about do away with our police protection.
We have and have had legislators who lie, cheat, steal or have major moral problems. Why don’t we demand a reform of politicians? For the most part, of course, politicians are not in need of reform. But here we are screaming from the mountaintop about police because of a handful of individuals who have their own agenda or at least forgot what the job is all about.