Letter: Some reforms needed for police

Published 10:13 pm Wednesday, August 5, 2020

I oppose any efforts to defund the police. However, I do believe that we should have a citizen’s advisory board to the police force to review instances of mishandling of people assumed to be guilty of some crime.

I also believe that we should look at the training of the police and we should eliminate chokeholds and mishandling of criminals once they are in handcuffs or no longer resisting arrest or restrained and surrounded by overwhelming force.

The methods used to break up or disperse unruly crowds is something that I am willing to leave up to the police force because I’m not standing there. I know how threatening crowds can be having trained for the security force at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I support South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s resolution for how we deal with this issue.

As for the use of signs on streets and buildings I think you have to be careful with that because some will say Black lives matter and they don’t like the Confederate flag. However, others will use the black, red and green flags for Black liberation or other flags, which some others may not like. If you allowed this one, sign you better be prepared to deal with others — some of which you might not like.  I generally favor freedom of speech but not on buildings and monuments that are public property or private property if it’s not yours.

I regret that I cannot be there to deliver my message in person but I am sort of disabled and scheduled for a TV interview at the same time.

— Ada Fisher

Salisbury

Editor’s note: This letter submitted to the Salisbury City Council for their meeting on Tuesday about banning the use of chemical agents and provided to the Post by the author.