To prevent shooting deaths like Keith Collins’ in Raleigh, police policies must change

Police policy

Regarding “Wake DA: Raleigh officer justified in shooting Collins,” (Aug. 28):

While I applaud Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman for making the correct conclusion under current law, I propose that the current law enforcement policy is simply wrong.

What interests were served by pursuing a black male fleeing from a police officer, albeit ignoring verbal commands to stop? There were other ways the officer could have investigated Keith Collins’ possession of a firearm without endangering himself, Collins, or the public.

I am a retired prosecutor and indigent defense attorney from California. In 28 years I’ve seen policing and prosecuting change dramatically from a search for justice to the current state of paramilitary response and overcharging criminal defendants to discourage jury trials.

Police and prosecutors are not the only ones to blame. The public’s unceasing demand for safety without personal accountability and the judiciary’s interest in re-election instead of justice, have also contributed to the current state of social injustice.

Laura Eagleton, Raleigh

Small businesses

Small businesses across N.C. are facing the challenges and uncertainty brought by COVID-19.

One concern business owners did not have to worry about was how to pay our employees during the first months of the pandemic, thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program. In NC, 130,000 small businesses received more than $12 billion in forgivable PPP loans.

Businesses are now facing a lengthy, complex stack of government forms to apply for forgiveness. It’s estimated the process can cost up to $4,000 and require 20 to 100 hours of work. When I first received the forms, I thought to myself “there must be a better way.”

Luckily, a bipartisan group in Congress thought the same thing and introduced legislation to streamline the forgiveness process for loans less than $150,000. I’d like to thank Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr and Reps. Dan Bishop and Ted Budd for supporting this legislation.

The rest of our delegation should join their effort and Congress should pass the Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act now.

Jenny Bradley, Raleigh

Louis DeJoy

Americans have watched in disbelief as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy tarnished the integrity and reputation of the U.S. Postal Service. His testimony to Congress claims no foul intentions, but his actions and history say otherwise.

DeJoy enjoys a seat on the board of trustees at Elon University, where I am currently a sophomore. I am ashamed that my school has associated itself with this attack on democracy. Students like me have been outspoken about removing him, only to be met with disregard from the administration.

Sabotaging the postal service in the middle of a pandemic is despicable and the attempts to de-legitimize the election threaten our democracy.

I demand that Elon remove DeJoy from the board.

John Sloop, Raleigh

Sen. Thom Tillis

It’s no surprise that Thom Tillis is trying his best to come across as a reasonable moderate, now that the election is two months away.

But in a recent visit to Raleigh, he mimicked Trump and the GOP when saying he opposes bailing out state governments that face a budget crunch due to COVID because it would mostly help blue states like New York and California.

Does he really believe a GOP governor in New York or California would not also need help at this time? Only in the Trump era would we define the country and its extraordinary needs in this way.

Laura Stillman, Raleigh

Donald Trump

It’s interesting to hear Trump supporters warn of the violence and discord that will come if Joe Biden is elected. Have they looked outside? Seen the news? Watched their own political ads?

Disorder and conflict, often accompanied by deadly violence, are happening now. Under Trump.

Biden hasn’t fomented the discord on our streets. All these GOP worst-case scenarios are being realized now, and the blame lies solely on Trump.

Stacy Martineau, Greensboro

UNC System

UNC, N.C. State and other universities in the UNC System are taxpayer funded. A handful of students behaved in violation of COVID-19 restrictions, which resulted in the shut down of on-campus instruction.

Is their only punishment for such a damaging action that they have to take classes remotely?

The disruptive students should at least be suspended, if not expelled, for no reason other than to demonstrate rules of behavior are not just suggestions. And the performance reviews of relevant administrators should reflect their very expensive misjudgments.

Anthony J. Waraksa, Durham

Clarification: A letter in Friday’s Forum concerning Sen. Richard Burr did not make clear that a quote about President Trump and Russia came from an addendum, not from the body of a Senate Intelligence Committee report.

This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 12:14 PM.