Killing Riley was wrong…

Dear Editor,

About the police killing of a pregnant Jeanetta Riley, Mayor Carrie Logan stated “The initial public response… was mixed with a vocal minority being very critical of the police.” She goes on to say “Once the investigation had been completed and we were able to fully release the information, there has been a lot of support for the Sandpoint Police Dept. with continued criticism by a vocal minority.”

The implication Mayor Logan is obviously making (with her use of the word “vocal minority”) is: because they are a “vocal minority” they do not support the police and are wrong in their criticism.

There was a “vocal minority” in the Confederacy who spoke out against slavery before the Civil War and there was a “vocal minority” in the south who spoke out against segregation in the 1950s and 60s. I would ask Mayor Logan, “Were these “vocal minorities” wrong in your mind too?”

Over the past year I have heard from several sources that many people are afraid to speak out against this police killing of Jeanetta Riley or attend the memorial services held for her and her unborn child.

Why are so many in Sandpoint afraid of the authorities? Fear is a very good way to keep the “vocal minority” a “vocal minority”, isn’t it Madam Mayor?

By the way Madam Mayor, being I am one of those you refer to as the “vocal minority”, and despite your implication, I do support the police. I just don’t support what was the unnecessary killing of a pregnant Jeanetta Riley.
Lee Santa

Sandpoint