Letters: Cops should follow own advice, not ‘go fetal’

For generations, cops’ standard advice to worried arrestees has been, “Don’t worry — if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.”

Yet Mayor Rahm Emanuel now claims police officers are slacking off on the job, “going fetal,” as he described it, afraid cameras may record them exceeding their authority, thus jeopardizing their futures.

Why can’t they follow their own advice and do their duty within the rules meant to prevent runaway excess? No foul, no penalty.

The only cops in trouble or who were fired are those who broke the rules, or behaved recklessly, or otherwise went too far throwing their weight around. And among those, the vast majority are exonerated after hearings.

As they’ve always preached, if they do nothing wrong, they have nothing to fear, even from cameras, which can prove cops right as readily as proving them wrong.

Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park

Rotten egg

One of the more recent rotten eggs to get scrambled is Barbara Byrd-Bennett. This looks like a case of the early worm getting the bird. Are there any more bad eggs on the CPS menu?

Lee J. Regner, Park Ridge

Was she sorry?

Barbara Byrd-Bennett made a tearful apology in court for her stealing and misappropriating millions of dollars from the Board of Education. Was she sorry for her actions or sorry she was caught? Had she not been caught she would have enjoyed the fruits of her crime, and it is a crime to steal.

John Culloton, Norwood PArk

Affordable games?

I hope with the Cubs’ sensational play this year that working-class fans will be able to afford to attend games at the new Wrigley Field. Taking my own son there as a youngster helped foster his love for sports in general. With ticket vendors controlling seats in some cases, their mark-ups may make it impossible for working class families to attend.

It seems the wealthiest families often expect tax breaks — if so, repay the earnest fans who hung in there for decades to realize these great victories. Create affordable days so that America’s working-class families, where many of the players came from, can witness the great game themselves in their hometown.

Vincent Kamin, Loop

Recall Rauner

Gov. Bruce Rauner needs to be recalled. He is cutting very important programs for needy children and senior citizens and caused people to be laid off because of budget gridlock. He needs to sign the budget as soon as possible so people can get back to work. Now, he evens wants to sell the State of Illinois building. What’s next?

Verna Johnson, Vernon Park

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