To the editor:
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck reacts to increasing violent crime by stating that Los Angeles is not Dodge City. (“19 shootings, a call for help,” Sept. 30)
He is correct. Dodge City had Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. They rode horses, not in ridiculous little electric cars, which Mayor Eric Garcetti wants the Police Department to use downtown.
They wore adult clothes, not shorts, as bicycle cops do.
They were seen as authority figures who deserved respect, not “community guardians” who evoked a shrug.
They were backed up by city officials who wanted safe streets, not undermined by a Police Commission that wants a warm and fuzzy Police Department.
Dodge City? I wish.
Daniel Stolar, Los Angeles
