Letter to the editor: Let's reform our citizens, too

Regarding the article “Community activists outline demands for police reform in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County” (June 15, TribLIVE): This talk about defunding police and reform makes me wonder why isn’t there a call for citizens reform as well.

Maybe it’s time to examine how citizens commit crimes, assault officers, swear at them and are then “victims” when police do their job as mandated by law and society.

We need to revisit the social contract that we all subscribe to. You know, the one where we each give up a small portion of freedom for the better of the society as a whole. We wouldn’t try to abolish or defund “society” when a very small percentage of it commit crimes, would we? So why would we want to abolish the police when a similarly sized small portion of police officers are bad? Why don’t we call for the same measures for bad politicians? Bad teachers? Bad doctors? It doesn’t make sense. None of this does.

I spent 24 years in law enforcement, and it seems to me as though the same children that have no parental structure (or don’t obey their parents when there is) are the same young adults who don’t listen to their teachers and become the same adults that always have run-ins with law enforcement.

It is time we all make an introspective examination of how we act individually so we all, collectively, make a better society together.

Francesco Rosato Jr.

Hempfield