POLICING GONE ASTRAY

To the Editor:

Re "When Justice Leaves a Bitter Taste," by Clyde Haberman (NYC column,
July 29):

The grand jury was right to decide not to indict Anthony Vasquez, the
undercover narcotics detective who shot Patrick M. Dorismond to death in
March, but the outcome of the episode clearly was not.

The reason is that the police operation, not the police officer, was wrong.
Tragedies like this are the inevitable consequence of a policy so extreme
that the police solicit ordinary citizens as they troll for drug busts.
That should tell us how much we have lost our way.