Stephen G. Lee: Commission needed to address police issues

I read with interest the April 13 news article “Harnett grand jury declines to indict deputy in shooting.” The decision not to charge Harnett County Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Kehagias in the shooting death of John Livingston was destined to leave his friends and relatives upset and dissatisfied.

My 43 years of law enforcement experience leave me confident in saying that the job can be difficult and thankless, and that many client interactions are unwelcome and come with varying degrees of personal risk. It is one of those jobs where we have to get things right 100 percent of the time to avoid serious consequences.

We have a clear and pressing need for independent oversight of police action to provide transparency and visible accountability to help restore public confidence and trust. Such oversight would help provide reassurance to the public that a stringent examination of police action would take place, untainted by the prospect of a partisan investigation conducted behind the “blue wall.”

A commission mandated to investigate serious complaints against the police needs to be established.

Such oversight can have only a positive impact on policing standards and enhance public confidence in our hard-working law enforcement professionals.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Stephen G. Lee: Commission needed to address police issues."