HomeNewsLetters to the Editor: April 29, 2015

Letters to the Editor: April 29, 2015

Police commissioner needs to clean house

I am a law-abiding citizen who has never been arrested and yet over the course of 10 years since moving to Philadelphia, the few times that I reached out to the police to report suspicious activities, the department failed me miserably. And I am not just talking about uniform officers out on patrol. I am speaking about high-brass personnel with over 20 years of experience.

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Nobody is denying that being a police officer in Philadelphia is a challenging job with inherent risks. But it’s a career path that is chosen out of free will and provides many officers with the opportunity of obtaining a good paycheck along with excellent benefits. I don’t want to diminish the heroics of the officers who have gone beyond the call of duty and especially those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives while protecting the community. But the fact remains many taxpayers in the city have become increasingly skeptical of the overall integrity of the department with the release of YouTube videos like Najee Rivera getting beat down by the police and then the cops adding insult to injury and writing him up on some bogus charges.

How many times has this occurred to other victims in Philadelphia that didn’t get captured on camera?

There’s a vast difference between the perception of community policing and the implementation of community policing and you would figure Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey — appointed by the president in response to the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City — would be a leading pioneer of transparency within his own departments jurisdiction. No matter how honorable Ramsey’s intentions might be when it comes to public safety and the police department earning the community’s trust — especially in the city’s notorious high-crime areas where the department has in many instances publicly urged witnesses of crimes to come forward — it’s the results that are most important.

As it stands, the PPD culture is more concerned with covering up its mistakes than acknowledging there are systemic deficiencies.

Jason Kaye

Rhawnhurst

Demanding better service

Is there anyone else that is experiencing difficulty trying to watch Comcast On Demand?

This has been going on for months. Either a message pops up telling you to try again or else to try your cable connection — neither of which helps.

On the rare instance when the show does come on, and you start watching, it becomes so diluted (pixelated), it is impossible to continue watching.

I have called Comcast multiple times to report this issue only to become more frustrated by not getting any answers.

One reason, the representative is not local, so I requested to speak to someone who was.

“Hold on,” I was told. “I’ll transfer you.”

More frustration ensued when no one else ever came on the line. Obviously, customer service is a thing of the past (or is nonexistent) with Comcast.

They simply do not care. FiOS cannot get here soon enough.

Martie Martin

Somerton

Support your local library

The 61-location Free Library of Philadelphia system advocates literacy, guides learning, and inspires curiosity with millions of digital and physical items; 25,000 yearly programs and workshops; public computers and extensive Wi-Fi, and rich special collections. All for free!

With more than 6 million in-person and 9 million online visits annually, the Free Library and the Rosenbach of the Free Library are among the most widely used educational and cultural institutions in Philadelphia and boasts a worldwide impact. Please visit in person, or online anytime at freelibrary.org

Andrea Zimmerman and Julie Doty

Northeast Area Administrators

Andrea Shumksy

Northeast Area Library Coordinator

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