To the Editor:

I am confused by the justice system. There has been a divide over the years where you are either pro-police or against them. I find myself in a confusing place where I would like to voice my concerns for abuse of power, while remaining respectful to those who serve us.

I am nauseated that law enforcement can use excessive force and falsify police reports without repercussions for their actions. It is a fact that this is happening. This should be appalling to anyone and everyone, law enforcement included. The nature of every “group” is to protect their own — this is damaging to the reputation of all police officers. This protection makes it impossible for “bad apples” to get called out. Even a good cop may have trouble owning up to a mistake for fear of retaliation within a department.

As a taxpayer, I want police oversight and de-escalation education. Our current system is broken. When this broken system becomes the personal story of a local veteran it is heartbreaking.

I know Newtown currently has policies prohibiting chokeholds and using de-escalation. These policies mean nothing unless they are abided by. As a community we should be included when these policies practices have been violated. A civilian review board should be actively involved in investigating the practices that potentially violated the policies. If these investigations are handled internally they are bound to be biased. I would hope that all body cams and surveillance videos available would be accessible to the public to corroborate police reports that were questioned for violating department policies.

Sofia Voorhis

151 Shelter Rock Road, Danbury April 23, 2021