LETTERS: Postal Service in better shape than editorial suggests

The editorial on the U.S. Postal Service misrepresented the financial situation of the agency (“USPS and pot ads,” Dec. 28 Review-Journal). The fact is that the Postal Service is operating at a profit; its earned revenue (no taxpayer money has gone to USPS for decades) exceeded its business expenses by $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2015 and produced $2.9 billion in total operating profits over the past three years.

The factors driving this impressive financial performance augur well for the future — letter revenue has stabilized as the economy improves after the worst recession in 80 years, and package revenue is skyrocketing as people in Las Vegas and elsewhere shop online. Moreover, the Postal Service is the leading civilian employer of veterans, and it’s the centerpiece of the $1.3 trillion national mailing industry, which employs 7.5 million Americans in the private sector, including 60,161 Nevadans.

There is red ink, but it is has nothing to do with the mail. It stems from a 2006 congressional mandate that the Postal Service prefund future retiree health benefits. No other entity, public or private, is required to do this for even one year; USPS has to prefund decades in advance and pay for it all over 10 years. That $5.6 billion annual charge is the “red ink.” If Nevada’s congressional representatives help address the prefunding fiasco, the Postal Service — which is based in the Constitution — can continue to provide Americans and their businesses with the industrial world’s most affordable delivery network.

Fredric Rolando

Washington, D.C.

— The author is president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Metro ‘missteps’

A follow-up article on the New Year’s Eve officer-involved shooting seems to be blaming law enforcement for the death of a fugitive (“Missteps detailed in shooting,” Tuesday Review-Journal). The fugitive’s death was triggered by his own reckless behavior, after being given numerous opportunities to comply.

Three alleged missteps were cited in the article as factors in the fugitive’s death. In reality, they played no role in his demise. The first misstep cited: marshals said Keith Childress was wanted for attempted murder, which later turned out to be false. The reality is the suspect was wanted for a list of felonies and was avoiding apprehension. The tactics used would not have been different if the term “attempted murder” had not been put forth.

The second misstep cited: Officer Blake Wolford did not activate his body camera. The article seems to imply this was an intentional act and the officer needs to be punished. Anyone who thinks the officer should be disciplined for this mistake has never been in a life-or-death situation. The officers were operating in a highly stressful environment; forgetting to turn on a switch is certainly understandable in this situation. Again, this did not contribute to Mr. Childress’ death.

The final misstep cited: Mr. Childress had a cellphone in his possession, not a gun. Officers did not have the luxury of knowing that at the time. In fact, it’s obvious after listening to the audio of the standoff that Sgt. Robert Bohanon was certain the fugitive was holding a gun. Mr. Bohanon pleaded with Mr. Childress to “drop the gun” and “get on the ground” before any shots were fired.

A dangerous fugitive is no longer roaming our streets, and no innocent people were injured.

Dan Barry

Las Vegas

— The author is a retired Metro captain and currently the campus college chair of the College of Security and Criminal Justice at the University of Phoenix Las Vegas campus.