LAPD and trust in South-Central

Re “A cop in pursuit of trust, Opinion, Dec. 13

Los Angeles Police Officer Will Beall writes poignantly about policing in South-Central in pursuit of trust. But in the article there is no mention of illegal drugs, which sustain and perpetuate the gang violence, the cause of high murder rates not only in U.S. inner cities but in such places as Mexico and Colombia. The drug distribution system controlled by gangs gives gainful employment and a measure of respectability to those who aren’t able to overcome, in Beall’s words, “the legacy of restrictive housing covenants and economic isolation.”

The trust of these men goes to the gang, not the police. Community policing works and would work a lot better if drugs were distributed like alcohol and cops didn’t have to patrol South-Central as if they were combat troops in a war zone. Maybe then there wouldn’t be such an urgent need to recruit more cops and build more prisons.

MARTIN RAND

Laguna Niguel

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I can understand Beall’s sentiments that not all people in the L.A. Police Department are untrustworthy, even though many events have proved otherwise. Given recent accounts of police brutality and scandals, it’s hard for the black community to trust cops. Hopefully, with better police protocol and the riddance of crooked cops, things can begin to heal in our communities and trust can become earned.

SIBYL HOBDY

Altadena