Many walls have to be torn down before police-community relations can improve in Baltimore, and it will take a long-term commitment, not just a temporary Band-Aid, to heal the relationship on both sides ("Police order officers out of cars to better engage residents," March 11).
I believe Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Anthony Batts are on the same page about turning this monster around. It is a gargantuan task, but the decisions regarding police-community relations that are made today could shape the future of the city for many years to come.
There seems to be an inherited "cops are not to be trusted" mind-set among many, if not most, city residents that must be quashed before relations between them can improve.
Unfortunately, there are real problems involving police assaults. Many Baltimoreans feel that sometime in the past they were wronged by a cop. At some point those old grudges must be resolved if the city is to advance.
The Baltimore City Police Department is doing the right thing by making officers get out of their cars and onto the streets. This can only strengthen neighborhoods and weaken antiquated and unfounded beefs against the police. Forgiveness and empathy on both sides will be needed for that to happen.
Patrick R. Lynch, Nottingham