Editor, Ceres Courier,

While I agree with you, to a certain extent, that most videos where people claim they are "victims" turn out to be the exact force and necessary to restraint a suspect, how can you add Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Sandra Bland to that list?

Eric Garner was stopped on suspicion of selling cigarettes. It was a legal stop, however when a person is telling you they cannot breathe there should be some type of protocol to make sure a person is still feeling well. Did he break the law by selling cigarettes? Yes. Did he deserve to be put in a chokehold and not helped when he screamed that he couldn't breathe? No! Did they check if he was breathing? No! Did they offer help or CPR? No! Where does their civic duty start and end? Are they not supposed to protect the public? Was Eric Garner not innocent until proven guilty?

Michael Brown was also a suspect and legally detained but when a suspect gets violent they should call for backup. Michael Brown could have been stopped by shooting at his arm or leg and he would still be alive. By injuring a suspect an officer could subdue him. The bigger issue was the insensitive way the police department dealt with the crime scene and left his body there on the ground for hours.

Sandra Bland didn't comply with what? Being asked to put out her cigarette? She was well within her legal right to smoke in her car and the officer had no right to make her put it out. By refusing her cigarette she deserved what she got? Because that's what your article is insinuating, in my opinion. Anything after that moment was field by pure rage and a hurt ego on the officers' part. Now foul play or not, she shouldn't have been in that cell to begin with for her death to happen.

Videos are open for interpretation because you can see it all as it happened there's no editing or stage directions. So how can it be designed to make a cop look bad? The correct answer is it can't. By saying that they should "comply" to stay alive is like telling someone to cover up so they don't get raped.

Lastly, unless you know the parents involved in every single incident when people are rude or not complying with officers I would refrain from categorizing them all as bad parents.

I think your article is in horrible taste but I understand that's your opinion. So here is mine.

Lissete Piceno