REPAIR POLICE MISTAKE

Re: "Mistake by police sent her to jail -- McKinney
defends officers who arrested woman on drug charge,"
Tuesday news story.

I am a pro-law enforcement individual who has several friends who work
for area police departments. However, this has to be said:

It is a disgrace that police departments and other agencies can
devastate a life, then hide behind the shield of immunity, while their
victim has to clean up the mess they have made.

What is even more disgraceful is that this victim was not immediately
given her job back by the school district without penalty. It was
bureaucrats covering other bureaucrats' mistakes.

We as citizens need to demand of the Legislature that they change the
immunity statute to require agencies and officers who make these
mistakes to clean up after themselves. If not, there is always the
next election.

This would not necessarily require settlements, but that the agency or
officer admit their mistake to the victim -- and work with them to
repair the damage, contacting employers, creditors, etc., to explain
the error and request that any adverse action be reversed
immediately.

To those who say this would cost too much money: I say it would not,
as departments would tighten the rules to avoid these mistakes.

How long would it have taken to determine that the woman in question
did not have a tattoo?

STEVEN GAUSS

Dallas