Officer Simone and his gun do not make us safer

To Phillip Morris:

I read your July 15 column in the Plain Dealer titled "Officer Simone and his gun are making Cleveland Safer". Yes, I do indeed wonder why Officer Simone is being hailed as a hero. Your answer that "because he is a hero" is little more than self-fulfillment. You admit that Simone is a dangerous social statement, but I very much disagree that his actions are necessary.

The extreme version of law and order you advocate, in practice, amounts to thugs with badges that end up harassing innocent people. It is disappointing that a mainstream, respectable newspaper would publish such dreck. The police state you imagine is more damaging to our social fabric than the criminals you seek to prosecute.

Officers who speak of Simone as being "fair" don't walk in the shoes of the people he shot to death. I wonder if they would think of Simone as fair if they were the ones he murdered. I'm sure they would be singing a different tune if that was the case. The many traffic tickets Officer Simone dishes out are another great cause of concern for liberty and freedom. The vast majority of traffic stops and fines amount to little more than theft of citizens' hard earned money. Because of this, people (if they so choose) would be justified in resisting police officers in traffic stops - with force if necessary.

The penalty for robbing a bank clearly isn't death in this country. Where do you think we live, Iran? There is something called due process, which is supposed to protect us from police abuse. Simone has absolutely no authority to become judge, jury, and executioner as you foolishly conclude. Our police officers steal more money from people than all bank robbers combined. They are the ones who can go to hell. I don't advocate violence unless it is in self-defense. In my opinion, the crazed state of excessive law enforcement in this country warrants defensive resistance against police aggression.

If you doubt my statement about police abuse, you only need visit http://badcopnews.com. There is no evidence whatsoever that Cleveland is safer after Simone murdered those people.