CLEAN HOUSE

I am deeply disturbed by both the shooting death of Kenneth Walker and
the response of the Columbus community.

Mr. Walker was not guilty of any crime, had never been convicted of
any crime and was not carrying a weapon. Nevertheless, he was shot
twice in the head by a Muscogee County sheriff's deputy who mistook
his friend's vehicle for that of a drug dealer. Such a shooting death
can only be called what it is, murder, and those responsible should be
arrested and appropriately charged.

Where is the public outrage? At the very least, citizens of the
community should be picketing the Sheriff's Department for the release
of the tape and the name of the officer, to be followed by their
arrest and incarceration.

We cannot allow police officers to get the impression that they will
be pardoned for what is the equivalent of murder. Being
representatives of the system that imposes the law, police officers
should be held to the highest possible standards of conduct and should
receive the most severe punishment when they stray. A rogue policeman
is many times more dangerous to the public than a murderer; for he/she
can murder with impunity.

Mayor Bob Poydasheff has shown no leadership in this crisis. Instead
of prompt and decisive action, he has been virtually silent,
apparently hoping that the matter will simply disappear by itself.
Given that the various police authorities are apparently involved in
an effort to create a cover-up of a murder, one can only regard the
mayor as an accomplice in this effort. As such, his resignation is in
order, as are the resignations of all involved police officials. A
thorough house cleaning is absolutely necessary before Columbus can
move forward.

Thomas H. Pate

Columbus