LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: A cause for anger toward Dover police

I am a husband, father and military veteran. A man of 63, I have lived in Dover most of my life. Although I have resided in several states over the years, this city has always been my home. A few years ago, I returned after a stay in North Carolina, and what I’ve seen since then has caused me to become very angry. Webster’s Dictionary defines anger as “a feeling of displeasure and/or hostility that a person has because of being injured, mistreated, opposed or oppressed.” Well, I’m angry. I have personally observed law officers of the city of Dover drive through residential areas at high rates of speed, repeatedly, with no thought to the safety of its residents. Statewide, the speed limit is 25 mph in neighborhoods. I, along with my neighbors, have observed officers provoke their subjects into escalation during encounters with the police. These officers have misused and abused the authority given them. They have intimidated, disrespected, racially profiled, as well as dehumanized, a number of citizens. I’ve even come to contemplate whether or not members of the police force have undergone any ethical or psychological screening prior to service, or even at the academy. Now, there are some reading this that may call me a troublemaker. On the other hand, some might be saying, “Right on,” “Yes, brother,” and “Thank God.” I have no doubt there might be trouble coming my way for expressing my freedom of speech. To those individuals, I quote the words of Martin Luther King Jr.: “When one man’s rights are violated, all men’s rights are violated.” So, let’s not get it twisted. There are problems in the police force that need to be addressed. We do not think we are better than anyone else; we just want better. It does not have to be a proclamation expressing concern or the pronouncement of a newly created task force. Those in power have known the true roots of the problem for some time, but because of some political mandate and/or generational characteristics, refused to muster the intestinal fortitude or moral center to help change things, making all our lives, in the eyes and heart of God and man, reflect true community. Time is running out, and we all have to go before the same judgment seat. Do you know what you will say to justify your actions?

With hope, William C. Crawford IV Dover