In his column, Dan Rodricks states that the officer made a bad arrest and that is not a crime ("Is Nero arrest of Freddie Gray a mistake or a crime?" May 10). His reasons for this are that Freddie Gray was in a high crime area, it was a bad arrest (a mistake) and that Marilyn Mosby's office had asked the police department to target the area with "enhanced" enforcement.
But is he condemning what the state's attorney's office requested — the "enhanced" techniques? If he's not faulting the officer because he was following orders, then there has to be judgment on the orders.
Either Freddie Gray was collateral damage for necessary police operations or those at the top should be held responsible for the tactics they are demanding of the officers. I would like to know which so that things are clear.
Alex Rediger, Baltimore