Bashing Klocker hurts public trust

Published 4:12 pm Wednesday, May 12, 2010

From the Tuesday letter, “Despite verdict, Meade faces firing”:

“I had coffee with other retirees and we came to the same conclusion: The hate and discontent have yet to begin and we, as a group, would never want Officer Klocker to back us up or roll to a call with us. If this is coming from retirees, what do you think the working coppers think about Klocker?”

The hate and discontent come from the fact that Niles Meservey was pretty much executed by hopefully-soon-to-be-ex Officer Troy Meade. The charges of murder being brought up and denial of self-defense issued by those far more versed in this case confirm it.

But what makes this even worse is the writer’s portrayal of Officer Steve Klocker as a pariah — for telling the truth as he saw it. We, the general public, will never know what the EPD line officers truly think of Troy Meade — but bashing Steve Klocker for not helping “back us up” after the fact will certainly not help gain the trust of the public in our police.

Mark Janis

Lynnwood