UNFAIR BURDEN

I am writing to correct the insufficient context of my remarks as they
appeared in last week's story by Nina Shapiro [The Drug Issue, "Cops Against
the Drug War," Aug. 13].

The article failed to state, as I requested, that my opinions were my own
and not those of the Mountlake Terrace Police Department. Second, the single
quote that made it into the article failed to communicate my broader point,
which was that the police are unfairly carrying the burden of dealing with a
social predicament with underlying causes far beyond our control. In
carrying that burden, we constantly imperil ourselves to little avail,
because society lacks the moral courage to engage the real roots of the drug
crisis.

Finally, the offensive cartoon accompanying the article, which depicts a
police officer lighting a joint for an emaciated man, flies in the face of
what I expressed in my interview about the horrific effects of drug use,
which my colleagues and I witness daily. I am truly disheartened that my
calculated risk of speaking on the record was repaid with a distorted
portrayal of my profession, my agency, and me.

Jonathan Wender

Mountlake Terrace