Examiner’s ‘mean-spirited’ cheap shot at law enforcement

Publishing the names and salaries of every member of the Baltimore Police Department — as The Examiner did two days ago — is perhaps the most irresponsible, ill-informed and mean-spirited act that I have ever known a news organization to commit.

In a front-page article and accompanying editorial, the paper was apparently trying to document the misuse of overtime money. I believe the stories badly missed their mark and, I am certain, caused serious collateral damage. Not only did The Examiner severely compromise the security of dozens of undercover officers, they needlessly impugned the integrity of thousands of men and women who risk their lives every single day protecting our city for salaries that, I am not proud to say, are significantly lower than those of law-enforcement officers in most neighboring jurisdictions.

Yes, our officers earn overtime — badly needed overtime in a city where violent crime, despite the great strides we have made, remains a problem. But to imply that our officers, as well as the hard-working civilian support staff, are somehow ripping off taxpayers is an inaccuracy and insult of the highest order, which I will not soon forget. I hope The Examiner’s readers won’t either.

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Leonard D. Hamm
Baltimore City Police Commissioner

Koo’s plight shows city’s disdain for property rights

Super May 14 article on Nam Seo “George” Koo, “Owner takes one last stand to preserve his small business.” Keep up the great work exposing the Baltimore Development Corporation’s war on property rights. I don’t know how the city ever expects to attract much-needed investment when it treats its current property owners so badly.

Stephen J. K. Walters
Professor of Economics
Loyola College in Maryland
Baltimore

Custer, not Custard

In The Examiner’s May 14 story, “Owner takes one last stand to preserve his small business,” the writer likens small-business owner Nam Seo “George” Koo to Gen. George “Custard.” Custard? Does the writer mean Gen. George Custer, who led his troops into an ambush at Little Big Horn? Was this maybe an inadvertent misspelling, or was there some well-known general in American history whose name really was George Custard, and I just never heard of him?

Don P. Savell
Catonsville

Don’t be foolish: Rate hike is coming

“I voted for [O’Malley] because he said he would stop the hike. I wasted my vote.”

Would you please tell me what on Earth you were trying to accomplish by including this quote from [Anne Arundel County resident] Christina Dixon (“Officials fear drop in fuel fund donations,” May 12)?

I am far from an O’Malley supporter, but I don’t recall him or any other politician saying they were going to stop the hike. Anyone, and that includes Del. Jill Carter, who thinks BGE isn’t going to raise rates, lives in la-la land.

Claude Hoerner
Sykesville

Charter schools, KIPP get the job done

Thanks to Christopher B. Summers for his May 15 column, “Fixing Baltimore’s education crisis.”

His point has been expressed by many concerned citizens. I was lucky enough to get my child into a good charter school — Midtown Academy. I did not find out about KIPP [Ujima Village Academy] until after my child was in the sixth grade. We citizens have come to the conclusion that it is politics as usual as far as educating our children.

Gov. O’Malley has visited KIPP, and he has seen the progress. But I am sure he owes some favors to someone [and won’t] commit to improving education in Baltimore. I also have visited KIPP and was amazed. I would put any private school next to KIPP and would have confidence in its competitiveness.

We as parents to need to picket, boycott and collect signatures to send to those in the bureaucracy who are responsible for our children’s public education. KIPP, and all those charter schools that are making the grade, deserve equal funding.

Thomasina Prioleau
Baltimore