‘Racism’ claim unfounded

In response to Spokane Police Department Chief Meidl’s statement that his friendly wave to a mother and young son was met with a glare, a member of a panel gave an explanation. The panel was brought together by a group “that strives to combat political polarization.” After discussing how the department has reformed since Otto Zehm’s unfortunate death following his false arrest, there was a “consensus” that there is “still more criminal justice reform work left to do.” (“People for Effective Government panel talks police reform 15 years after Zehm’s death,” June 11)

Interestingly, Otto Zehm was white, and the mother and son were Black. Yet the justification for responding to an attempt to be friendly with a rude glare was “The police have been discriminating against people of color for decades or centuries … they’re antagonistic because for generations they’ve had good reason to fear law enforcement.” The little boy wasn’t yet a generation old.

This is Spokane, where I’ve lived for seven decades. I’ve always followed the news and I’m unaware that the SPD as an organization has ever had a racial bias issue. What I do know is that in the last year or so, at least two teenage Black youth were gunned down in gang-related shootings in Spokane and I haven’t heard any alarm about that. That is not the Spokane I grew up in.

Untruthful “because of racism” nonsense is not only not helpful, but potentially deadly for that little boy and his mother.

Paul Unger

Spokane