Our Readers Respond...

Taking Yonkers Police Department Ad To Task

Dear Editor:

In response to the Yonkers Police Department’s (YPD) nearly full-page ad in the September 23, 2007 edition of The Westchester Journal Newspaper, the Westchester Chapter of The National Black Police Association feels that the advertisement is a misrepresentation of the issues. Our criticism is not an attack on the YPD as a whole or the fine officers that serve and protect the Yonkers community.

Instead we are demanding critical and fair accountability of the few police officers that cross the line, and that the administration recognize and correct their failure to address this ongoing epidemic.

As stated in previous press releases, it is no secret in the law enforcement community of Westchester that the attitudes and actions of some YPD professionals are appalling. These attitudes have been ignored for years. More often these negative attitudes are displayed in the underprivileged communities of color.

Six thousand seven hundred arrests and 34 complaints sound very impressive. I attended the forum of the NAACP in September, 2006, where there were wall-to-wall citizens of Yonkers who had complaints (obviously more than 34). The victims were either scared to file a complaint due to fear of retaliation by the accused officers or they didn’t know how to file a proper complaint. Since September 2006, complaints have been filed at the Nepperhan Community Center and with the Yonkers NAACP, as well as the National Action Network. It is well documented that most victims of police brutality admit to being victims, but do not file formal complaints. This is not to say that police brutality does not exist.

It is an outrage to the Yonkers communities of color and its voters that 5.3 percent of its Yonkers police officers are Black when the Black population of Yonkers is 19 percent. Again, where are the young men and women of color? Or is the perception of the YPD so horrible that any young Black man or woman that has grown up
in Yonkers wouldn’t dare take the job?

To build trust in the communities of color and its voters the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, along with the City Council, should support an independent Civilian Complaint Review Board. An independent CCRB will serve as a balance between YPD and the community it claims it wants to serve and protect.

D.K. Jones, Executive Director,
Westchester Chapter, National Black Police Association
National Board Member, National Black Police Association

Kudos For Paul Feiner

Dear Editor:

Congratulations to our hard working Paul Feiner. With rolledup sleeves and sweat on his brow, I watched him stand-up for democracy in Greenburgh. It just shows that truth and determination is a powerful combination.

I’m glad so many people in our town understood what was happening and stood behind him. This is huge. Here in our allimportant microcosm of America, Greenburgh has spoken and said, “We will not be bullied by America’s political bosses and special interests!”

I think when it comes down to it, people know that as long as Paul is serving Greenburgh, we still have three things: 1. A voice that can be heard. 2. A chance to participate, and 3. Someone caring, honest and proactive watching out for us. So I say, “Thank you Paul for all you do, and all the effort you put into it.” – and right now, I believe a large part of Greenburgh has just said, “Thank you” too!

Terry Pavone, Greenburgh

Reader Defends Education For Inmates

Dear Editor:

I wish to respond to your reader, Matthew Colavito, because he has expressed a common sentiment: that if someone commits a crime he must be punished severely, and one way to punish a criminal is to make education unavailable in prison. What is overlooked by people who feel this way is that education is necessary for everyone in our society if they are ever to lead decent, law-abiding lives, with jobs, able to support themselves and their families.

Education is not a luxury. If a young person stupidly committed a crime before he finished his education, it doesn’t do us any good to keep him warehoused in prison for years without access to education, only to release him eventually, as ignorant as he was the first day he walked into prison. The taxpayers who support these institutions are getting very little value from this sort of policy.

Almost everyone in prison will be released at some time, and educating prison inmates will produce a much greater return for society than having them spend their years in custody staring at four walls until they are released, possessing no more options for a law-abiding life than they had when they went in.

Obviously the reader did not know that Mr. Deskovic is an innocent person who did not go to prison for a “good reason”, and it is very important for everyone to realize that life is extremely difficult for those who have been wrongly convicted, with or without an education. The prison experience is usually a damaging one, and those who are exonerated because they were wrongfully convicted have the additional burden of trying to explain to prospective employers what it means to have a criminal conviction yet be exonerated.

That Mr. Deskovic is making a success of his life speaks volumes about his own inner resources and intelligence – intelligence that has been nurtured by education.

Joanne Naughton, J.D., Assistant Professor, Mercy College

Reader Missed Columnist Mayfield

Dear Editor:

If you’ve been away, Ms. Vicki, “welcome” back. For some reason I was picking up several copies of The Guardian, and to my surprise I did not see an article or two from you and disappointed I was. And recently I picked up my important, informative and impressing paper and happily found my section of you among all other fascinating journal of news. Thanks, Ms. Vicki, for all you say and do!

I always keep looking forward to “Freedom Isn’t Free”.

Shirley Jones

Out-of-Uniform Vets and Service Members May Salute The Flag

Dear Editor:

Recently a Bill (s. 1877) clarifying U.S. Law to allow veterans and service members, not in uniform to salute the flag, sponsored by U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Ok), was passed. Prior to the passage of this bill the law stated veterans and service members not in uniform were required to place their hand over their heart to salute the
flag.

To quote Senator Inhofe when the bill passed he said, “The salute is a form of honor and respect, representing pride in one’s military service. Veterans and service members continue to represent the military service even when not in uniform.”

It is respectfully requested that you notify your readers of this new Law. It is an appropriate way to honor and recognize the 25 million veterans in the United States who can proudly salute at events such as parades, formal events, baseball games, etc. Those who are currently serving or who have served in the military have earned the
right.

Thaddeus “Ted” Polant, Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 596