Baltimore can't afford vanity police escorts for VIPs

The best policy regarding police escorts for VIPs is to eliminate them entirely, except in cases of extreme emergency ("A case-by-case stance on city police escorts," Sept. 15).

I live on President Street and have noticed in increase in vehicles, buses and the like being escorted by police cars and motorcycles with sirens blaring. Not only do they disrupt traffic and waste of police manpower, they are also an ear splitting annoyance.

Retired Baltimore Police Lt. Col. Michael Andrew acknowledged that "everybody and his brother wants one," so clearly police escorts have become issue of vanity. As a taxpayer, I resent having our police force turned into a status symbol.

Except on rare occasions, let's end the practice completely. Residents of downtown Baltimore already pay a huge price to live here; unnecessary outlays for vanity police escorts should not be added to our burden.

Rosalind Ellis Heid, Baltimore