Policies for off-duty police work
I am surprised to see the number of incidents involving police performing off-duty work in the news recently.
Is it in the best interest of a community for police officers to perform security work in their off-duty hours? Why are off-duty policemen allowed to wear their uniforms while performing work other than their police duties? And why was a slain Denver police officer’s death treated as job-related with full benefits and entitlements at taxpayers’ expense?
Many cities do not allow full- time officers to wear their uniforms outside their full-time jobs as police officers, and none that I am aware of allow police to receive benefits from their employment when their death is not job-related.
There are many fine police officers who seek to earn extra income, and in many places work is advertised in the local police stations for officers desiring to work a few extra hours a week. But can these officers perform their full-time jobs, work extra hours, and still provide a level of safety for the citizens they have sworn to protect and serve without placing these same citizens at a high risk?
Johnnie G. Wren, Kiowa
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Harsanyi column on hate-crimes legislation
Re: “Gays don’t need vetoed bill’s ‘help,”‘ May 31 David Harsanyi column.
Far from granting “special rights” or “elavat(ing) one citizen’s worth above another’s,” hate-crimes laws recognize that a hate crime has a different impact on the victim and his or her community than a crime that is not motivated by bigotry. A hate crime is a message crime. It tells the victim, and everyone who shares the victim’s characteristics, that the victim is not welcome here, and not safe, simply because of his or her race, religion, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. That message ripples far beyond the individual victim to reach every Coloradan who shares those characteristics.
By the enactment of hate-crimes laws, our society sends an important message to victimized communities: You are welcome here, and we value you as a member of our society. Coloradans should all stand behind that message, and applaud the recent addition of sexual orientation and disability to our state’s hate-crimes laws.
Bruce H. DeBoskey, Denver
The writer is a regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
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My friend had a liver transplant 2 1/2 years ago. One of the first things he did when he felt well enough was go dancing. At the end of the evening, he was attacked while on the way to his car. He remembered someone saying, “Hey, faggot,” before he was knocked unconscious. He was struck in the head with a brick, then punched, beaten and kicked in the face and abdomen once he was down. Witnesses said there were three assailants.
Beyond the sheer cowardice of the attack, the point is that these criminals were out gay-bashing as recreation. My friend was targeted because he was gay. Why not special laws for specially motivated crimes? If there had been hate-crimes laws, and punks like these knew that if they were caught, the punishment would be more severe than for a “regular” assault, perhaps they would have stayed home. “Perhaps” is good enough reason for me to support hate-crimes legislation. Not for “special rights,” as David Harsanyi writes, but for teaching cretins like those who beat my friend that all members of society are entitled to live safely and free from fear.
Richard Robb, Denver
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Immigrant benefits and driver’s licenses
Re: “A reluctant enforcer; City cites fiscal, social costs of policing immigrants,” May 31 news story.
The headline on your article brings up the issue of “social costs.” As in previous articles where costs of “illegal immigration” is involved, I am left wondering why objectivity does not require today’s media to balance the picture with a hint of the benefits of these same individuals.
Of course, your article was a discussion only of the costs of police enforcement. Previous articles have focused on the costs of welfare and health services. Always absent is what taxes these same people are paying and what part of those taxes are for benefits they are not allowed to receive.
Surely The Denver Post is capable of an article that examines the real costs here.
Richard Kruch, Denver
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How can you – or the police, for that matter – possibly know that Raul Garcia-Gomez’s Mexican driver’s license was valid? Most likely it was just as fake as his social security card was. The police have no way to check the validity of any Mexican ID. That is why the FBI has ruled that the Mexican matricula consular is not a secure form of identification. Illegal immigrants have more rights than we do when they are pulled over for traffic violations. The police take down information from the Mexican driver’s license but cannot verify the address on it or the ID number.
Rhonda Roseto, Westminster
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Attacks on computers
Re: “Fresh attack on zombie spam,” May 31 editorial.
Regarding the subject of computer viruses or worms, I have yet to see it mentioned in your paper that these problems are almost exclusively tied to the Microsoft Windows platform.
You do your readers a disservice by not pointing out that virtually all viruses, trojans and worms affect only computers running Windows. It should also be mentioned that running an alternative operating system, such as Linux, or using an Apple Macintosh computer will protect a user’s computer from falling victim to these threats. Even using a Web browser other than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer on Windows will lessen the vulnerability of a Windows computer. Using an e-mail client other than Outlook Express will further reduce a Windows system’s vulnerability.
For the person who uses their computer for browsing the Web, e- mail, and tasks such as light word processing, both Linux and Macintosh platforms are suitable replacements for the Windows environment.
Bill Berden, Aurora
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Alternatives to expanding Interstate 70
Re: “The actual costs of I-70 expansion,” June 1 Colorado Voices column.
Spending billions on widening Interstate 70 before spending a dollar on an alternative is a bad idea. Do we really want a T-REX in Idaho Springs or Silverthorne?
Five years ago, it was a parking lot at Interstate 25 and Dry Creek at 5:30 on a weekday. Today the only thing that has changed is there are 33 percent more vehicles causing 33 percent more pollution. Thank goodness there will be a light-rail alternative.
Think of the added pollution that will be generated during the I-70 widening process and after it’s complete. I promise you, it will still be a parking lot on eastbound I-70 at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday and westbound at 4:45 p.m. on the Sunday when they cut the ribbon.
It is sad that a tourist cannot step off an airplane at our beautiful airport and hop on a train and be in Vail in two hours. Please, citizens of our beautiful state, do not support this project unless it includes an alternative.
Bob Cannistraro, Boulder
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