Integrity under arrest

From the time I was a small child, I was taught and believed that a policeman in any agency was the epitome of integrity, on and off the job. In the last few years and recently this belief has been shaken, with the recent events of the WSP college-degree, hand-slapping, embarrassing fiasco, Jay Olsen’s shooting tirade through Peaceful Valley, accusations by other members of the force about prisoner brutality and too many automobile-related instances and fatalities in the past and the recent Sgt. Bradley Thoma’s drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident incident, not to mention the Otto Zehm case.

The punishments are ridiculous and costly when you figure the expense of paying these officers paid leave during suspensions.

Yes, the attorneys can practice legalese hocus-pocus and the disciplinary boards can wink away these charges, while the citizens of Spokane silently watch the integrity of these law professions disappear.

I realize these instances don’t represent the entire forces, but it’s enough to cast doubt on the departments as a whole. They must start honestly policing their own and bring back their integrity and restore their rightful place of honesty in our society.

James A. Nelson

Spokane