Before any citizen is appointed to review and judge Baltimore City police officers ("Officers charged in Gray case honored at conservative gala," Sept. 27), they should be required to complete he following:
First, accompany an officer for an entire shift, day or night, including overtime for a full week in the jurisdiction they are to judge. Second, participate in a simulated scenario where they have to make a split-second decision whether to fire a weapon or not at a suspected perpetrator. And finally, handcuff a combative suspect without touching them — also known as using "excessive force."
Shifts involve four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days, but an officer's workday isn't over just because the shift ends. After dealing with a suspect for hours, detailed reports must be written and processed. A 10-hour shift can easily turn into 15 hours. Forget about eating, as there's no time, and the same applies to bathroom stops. And then the officer is required to show up for their next shift with little or no sleep and do it all over again.
Stop trying to police the police and let them do their job.
Patricia A. Leepa, Ellicott City