I don’t give a darn how rosy a picture the mayor and the police chief paint with their low crime rate per thousand.

Spokane has been known as “The Friendly City” and “The All-American City.” It is now becoming known as “Felony Flats,” with murders and major crimes thrown in. Why? Because our police chief and mayor have failed dramatically in not increasing the size of our seriously understaffed Spokane Police Department. How many more mornings will we wake up to hear about another murder or major crime?

We must wake up to the fact we have a major crime wave right here. This consists of murders, gangs, drugs, assaults, stabbings, car thefts; you name it, and we’ve got it. Until the city fathers and the citizens of Spokane unite and demand more police on the street, it will continue to escalate.

The Spokane Police Department has too many chiefs and not enough troops. We need more troops – now.

James Nelson

Spokane