Three cheers to Baltimore City Police Commissioner Anthony Batts for his comments regarding the police officer who was shot while on duty ("Officer shot in West Baltimore," Dec. 15).
It took courage, but he stood up for his officers and the danger that they face every day in their attempt to keep us all safe.
To those who decry his comments, I say: Make up your minds. You can't have it both ways. Rather than protesting when a black man is shot by a white officer or a white officer is shot by a black man, why can't we just agree that the shootings and killings are wrong no matter which way they go?
The victims are just as dead no matter what their race, and the killing has to stop.
A large number of the homicides in Baltimore are drug- or gang-related. We need to focus our efforts on stopping the killing of people of all races and the total lack of respect for life shown by such behavior.
Young people are dying over a pair of shoes or an imagined slight or an argument about a girl. We need to address the underlying misconception that such things are worth taking someone's life.
Until we can change that mentality, the killing will continue. Until that time, the commissioner's concern for his officers is commendable, and his unwavering support as their commanding officer is exactly what his position requires.
Wendy Bowman, Parkton