Letter to the Editor 9/29

To the officers of the law present in Pittsburgh:

Thanks for being here. With the possibility… To the officers of the law present in Pittsburgh:

Thanks for being here. With the possibility of large violent actions because of the G-20 Summit, I’m glad you were around to stop people from causing needless or excessive damage to the city and to protect the world leaders.

It should be noted, however, that Friday’s activities should in no way have been considered a reaction to the G-20. Both sides acted poorly, but you (should) know better. You have training, you have people to think about possible responses and you are not a decentralized mob.

I want an apology.

I want a public apology from the riot forces — to Pitt, and specifically to the students whose lives you made miserable — stating that you overreacted to the actual threat of protesters and activities in the Oakland area. Stating that you unnecessarily used excessive crowd control on groups who were there simply to observe, and you failed to consider curious college students in your planning.

And stating that you failed in your duty to keep people safe and their homes secure — to the point where students were afraid of law enforcement, and their homes were neither secure, comfortable or safe places.

You were correct in breaking up groups that were damaging property and in keeping world leaders safe. But you were wrong here, and you need to admit that to all of those you wronged (as should, perhaps, some of the arrested students). Such actions, whether permitted by codes or laws or procedures, can be and often are simply wrong.

We all owe it to everyone to think and apologize when what we did was out of line.

Sincerely,

Alexander Dale

School of Engineering