POLICE WERE JUST DOING THEIR JOBS IN SOMALI DRUG BUST

Re Somali `tempers boiling' after police drug bust, July 23.

I am outraged that in a civilized country such as Canada, anyone
would treat officers of the law in such a manner.

To assault police officers and throw garbage cans at the very people
who protect your rights as a citizen?

I applaud the officers for the manner in which they dealt with the situation.

I feel that if an officer is in danger, whether life-threatening or
not, he or she should have the right to use whatever force he or she
deems necessary to eliminate the threat to his or her safety or life.

The story goes on to interview a cabbie who states that: "There will
be bloodshed sooner or later."

I hope he wasn't insinuating that there would be retaliation against
the police because they busted a bunch of drug dealers.

I'm also quite amused that someone has allowed this story to be
twisted from a simple drug bust into some kind of specific racial
targeting by the police.

I would really like to know how looking for drug dealers in a known
drug-dealing location can constitute harassment.

The final kicker in the story is the report from a community worker
that: "Tempers are boiling within the community. They're outraged.
I'm really deeply worried about what will happen next."

The Somali community is outraged that the police arrested criminal
suspects? Maybe there is some confusion as to how the law applies.

While khat, the substance over which the bust was made, may be legal
in Somalia, it is not necessarily legal here in Canada.

David Xavier

North York