Wrong person was asked to resign

The recent flap between the mayor and police chief in Sultan as reported by The Herald appears to be an issue of police department integrity and the attempted abuse of power by local politicians.

As a retired police chief, I have also experienced pressure from local politicians to circumvent the integrity of the police department. Police departments are not the toys of the local politicians to do with as they please. They belong to the citizens of that city.

The article also reported that Police Chief Fred Walser has instructed his officers to “treat everyone fairly.” If a citation is issued and the violator feels the citation to be issued in error, the violator has the option of addressing the issue in a court of law. That’s how the system works. If citizens are treated fairly within the system, only then can the citizens feel that they as individuals will get a fair shake when they deal with police.

It looks to me that between the mayor and the police chief, the wrong person was asked to resign.

Snohomish

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