Those aren’t Christmas lights sparkling on Broadway in Everett, those are police car lights. Those are drivers being stopped and ticketed for even minor issues. Meanwhile, the streets are getting meaner and honest citizens are being given the brush by Everett’s finest when calling 911.
Every day it seems I watch as violent people threaten to beat up or even kill people. I recently watched as an extremely intoxicated man terrorized an entire store, threatening to hurt and kill everyone there. And yet when police arrived they didn’t even check the man’s ID. Nor did they check for weapons. The man was allowed to leave in less than a minute. He later brought his anger into two other local stores. Police were called again, but never showed.
The jail is full and officers are being told not to make arrests. I’ve even seen officers joking with intoxicated people and telling them where they could get a free meal. Meanwhile, scared mothers or citizens in fear for their safety are made to feel stupid for even calling 911.
Everett is a wonderful city with a lively theater, and a world class concert auditorium. But because of police priorities we have a much higher chance of seeing the police ticket us on our drive home than see them take potentially violent people off the street.
Steven Thorne
Everett
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