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Letters to the Editor

Letters: Sheriff is right about city’s policies

Sheriff Scott Jones argued in a Friday opinion column that the Sacramento City Council has damaged the morale of its police force.
Sheriff Scott Jones argued in a Friday opinion column that the Sacramento City Council has damaged the morale of its police force. The Sacramento Bee file

Sacramento is being anti-police

Re “Sacramento City Council decisions creating crisis in the Police Department” (Soapbox, March 24): Thank you, Sheriff Scott Jones for standing up for the Sacramento Police Department against the mayor and City Council. It needed to be said.

My experience as a cop in Sacramento was a good one. When I started every kid down to age 5 flipped us off. By the time I retired, every kid up to age 16 asked for a sticker or an autograph. Way to blow that good community work, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and crew. Still proud of the department, though, and always will be.

David Topaz, former president,

Sacramento Police Officers Association

Cops are answerable to public

Re “Sacramento City Council decisions creating crisis in the Police Department” (Soapbox, March 24): Scott Jones doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of “public” or “servant.” The Sacramento Police Department is a public investment. That means they are to perform their duties at the behest of the public and, ultimately. are to be held accountable to those investors and their elected representatives.

I am not surprised by the sheriff’s stance. Jones is an a proud supporter of the Trump administration, which defends the control police have over communities of color. Frederick Douglass said in best: “He was cruel enough to inflict the severest punishment, artful enough to descend to the lowest trickery, and obdurate enough to be insensible to to a reproving conscience.”

Rebecca Sharad, Sacramento

McClatchy students still waiting

Re “McClatchy High boosters say district must improve its long-neglected fields” (Page 3A, March 22): For many years, McClatchy High School has waited for the Sacramento City Unified School District to improve the athletic fields on campus. Sports teams use them, as well as students in physical education classes.

The three administrators who attended the Restore the Roar Public Forum this week all made excuses, but no promises. Meanwhile, Rosemont High School has a realtively new $1.97 million outdoor sport center. Maybe it’s time for administrators who visited McClatchy to seek employment elsewhere.

Art Taylor, Sacramento

Is football really source of ALS?

Re “Another sobering reminder of price NFL players pay” (Page 1C, Mar. 21): The author has jumped to the conclusion that playing football in the NFL led Dwight Clark to be diagnosed with ALS. However, Clark only “suspects” the disease may be linked to football. Professional football has undoubtedly caused brain damage in a number of players, but most people who contract ALS have never played the sport.

Wes Hill, Carmichael

EXTRA LETTERS ONLINE

Find them at:

sacbee.com/letters-to-the-editor

HOW TO SUBMIT

Online form (preferred):

www.sacbee.com/submit-letter

Other: Letters, P.O. Box 15779,

Sacramento, CA 95852

150-word limit. Include name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, brevity and content.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Letters: Sheriff is right about city’s policies."

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