Letter to the editor: Police deserve our respect

I’ve seen and heard plenty of dumb ideas in my 47 years, but one of the dumbest is the proposal by some to defund the police. I find it especially disheartening that some unions across the country are demanding that their local police forces be defunded.

What am I missing here? Are there some bad cops? Certainly, just like there are some bad teachers, bad doctors, bad engineers, etc. There was no excuse for the Minneapolis incident involving George Floyd, and that officer should be prosecuted to the fullest. However, defunding the police is not the answer.

If anything, teachers and local police should be working together to assist and educate their communities. Police officers never have had a more difficult job than today. They are the difference between order and chaos, and they deserve our support and respect.

Shaun Rinier

Penn Township, Westmoreland County