Letter: Lack of accountability is most important problem facing law enforcement

I am writing to you today in regards to the article, “Senators consider the need for mandatory inquests after Pasco shooting” (TCH, Jan. 12). This issue of police shootings has been a large part of the news cycle these past two years. Unfortunately, this problem has become a political issue, as opposed to a moral issue. We need to do more to support our police in proven and verifiable measures, but we also need accountability.

The most important problem facing law enforcement today is a lack of accountability. If an officer is found to be unfit for service, there is very little to stop this “bad apple” from moving across county and state lines and applying for a law enforcement job in a new area. We need better reference checking all over the U.S. and better regulations to stop unfit officers from applying for law enforcement and security jobs.

The vast majority of our officers are amazing human beings, and I have the utmost respect for them and their profession, but we cannot allow a few bad officers to continue to muddy the waters in our communities.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 2:08 AM with the headline "Letter: Lack of accountability is most important problem facing law enforcement."