Readers respond to last week’s Feedback Friday topic, which was:
Re-Fund the Police
The socio-political turbulence that our nation, state, and cities have experienced in the past several years with regards to the atypical cases of police brutality led to cries of “Defund the Police.” That became a slogan that was ultimately interpreted by Maryland’s own legislature as reforming police administration, resources, and judicial procedures. But those very measures have hit their own wall of scrutiny and criticism, even leading to what some officers describe as very low workforce morale and creating—like many professions today—a workforce shortage.
Contrarily, and in this week’s good news for the police profession, Governor Larry Hogan issued the following statement after the Maryland State Police announced that effective January 1, 2022, the state will increase the starting pay of trooper candidates by 45 percent:
“Today, we are taking the first step in implementing our $150 million Re-Fund The Police Initiative by ensuring that we offer more competitive salaries to the troopers who will be putting their lives on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe. We need more investment in public safety so that we can recruit and retain quality officers, increase diversity, expand community policing efforts, improve training, and provide better technology and equipment.
“Instead of defunding the police, we are re-funding the police.”
Our question to you:
Do you agree with this initiative?
Here’s what you said:
I do support this approach, but this is not blanket support. Pay increases make sense but need to be paired with reforms that increase training, accountability, conflict resolution and investment in alternative forms of assistance that improve police response to mental health and domestic violence situations.
Al Todd, Annapolis
Since I believe in the rule of law and support the democracy on which we were founded and even if there are good and bad in every profession, Police and Fire and free access to education should always be funded by a state; just as the Federal government must fund our Defense to enemies inside and outside of our country. If I swore I would say, Hell yes, but since I don't, I still say Hell yes!
Sam Brown, Annapolis
I wholeheartedly favor refunding the police. They put their lives on the line every day. Let's keep Annapolis and surrounding counties safe.
Karen DeGraffenreid, Annapolis
Agree with Hogan 100%.
Jod B., Annapolis
Agree.
Chuck Hewitt, Stevensville
I wholeheartedly support the idea of supporting law enforcement. At the same time we need to do a better job of making sure that those who are charged with serving and protecting the community are up to the task - morally, mentally, and physically. That requires training. It requires standards - both for entry/selection and for ongoing performance and professional growth. I'm happy to see better pay for our police. Let's make sure it translates into professionalism and high performance that benefits all in the community.
John Sommer, Annapolis
I do support the idea of increasing the starting salary of the state Police. However, I wonder - will those that have been on the state police payroll also receive a similar increase? If not, it seems to me that those have been a member of the state police organization will possibly be paid less than a new hire performing the same tasks. That will not be a good situation and also cause morale issues.
Rick Schimpf, Pasadena
Absolutely agree!
Lori Ross, Annapolis
This is great news and very much needed in Maryland, more specifically Annapolis where we just had our 5th murder. Our police force needs to be fully staffed and funded to keep our neighborhoods safe. Our police have to deal with so many things on a shift they can't possibly go from 10-12/shift to 5-6/shift and expect to get to the cases that really need their intervention. This is one of the TOP issues facing this City and it's great to know Hogan is behind making it better. Well done Larry!!
Monica Manthey, Annapolis
Glad to see that Governor Hogan is standing up for our wonderful police. Let's hope that the next Governor will as well. How you vote matters!
Julia Jones, Edgewater
Refund and stand by the police. The United States of America. We The People.
Gerard Hall, Annapolis
Absolutely, a daytime drive through middle of Baltimore will give you 2-3 reasons to do so........ People living in median strip, squeegee guys, lets not forget the two guys racing up the street doing wheelies on their dirt bikes and no helmets, people breaking into cars, a male assaulting a young women in broad day light tearing her clothes off her, over some argument in the cross walk.....saw it all in a 30 minute drive from east to west side....in August. They need officers’ feet on the ground and more of them. It is the wild west there and many real-estate agents I work with no longer take appointments to show houses in Baltimore, any part of Baltimore. Obviously, I think Governor Hogan has the right idea.
Rich Harrington, Edgewater
I do not agree with this initiative. Larry Hogan plans to run for higher office and this slogan is just part of his plan to appeal to the Trump supporters. Yes, I do agree we need to pay our police better, but this slogan is divisive. The last thing we need is more division.
Kim Kjerulf, Millersville
Truly, we need our police force. Although we have heard increasingly tragic reports of unarmed people, often from the Afro-American community, being shot -- often maimed or even killed -- by a policeman, we must remember that the reporting is not always necessarily accurate. In many cases, the police officer was physically threatened to the point that made gun fire seemed to be the only option.
Police officers must certainly be careful to avoid injustice and cruelty; however, they are, in most cases, held to an unrealistically high standard and blamed no matter what they do. While the death of George Floyd was apparently the result of a large-scale failure in which much should have gone differently, there are other cases in which police were going to rescue a person being attacked when the attackers turned on them and would probably have killed them if they had not fired in self-defense.
Instead of supporting the police in their extremely difficult job, a large portion of our population have turned against them, mocked them and harmed them physically, and shout for the death of all policemen and the elimination of the entire police force. In fact, I personally know a wonderful gentleman who has worked hard to serve his community and loved his job, but who has finally left the police force because of the horrible attitude of the infiltrated-mob mentality.
People had better not want to "throw the baby out with the bath water" and they must be careful what they ask for because all of us, including "them", will suffer from unchecked violence and chaos with none of the police protection and compassion that have always been available to benefit us so much as a nation.
Carol Moyer, Riva
