Help, not death, for mentally ill

Brooklyn: The silence from the police commissioner is deafening . When hundreds take to the streets to protest the killings by the NYPD of the mentally ill in our city under the banner of “NYPD Don’t Kill The Mentally Ill” and respected columnists like Errol Louis of the Daily News concludes in a recent column titled, “When insanity can get you killed” (Aug. 22) that “We should avoid kidding ourselves about whether the city is making measurable progress in this area. The body count strongly suggests otherwise,” what are we to do?

Do we do nothing and wait until another victim’s family buries their mentally ill grandparent, parent, brother or sister? No. As a civil rights attorney who represents four of the families of mentally ill persons recently killed by police in New York City, I suggest otherwise. Our mayor and City Council must take action now.

Of course there is no question that 100% of our police force must be trained to deal with the mentally ill (not 16% percent as is now the case). Additionally, we need a task force of experts to look at the protocol that presently exists to determine how training can be improved and what other measures can be enacted to prevent the all too frequent deadly confrontations between the mentally ill and police. We need to curb what appears to be a shoot first and ask questions later mentality of police who respond when 911 is called for help by a family member of a mentally ill person. Police officers who fail to follow existing protocol must be held both criminally and civilly accountable.

And in that regard, we need the governor to extend his executive order appointing the attorney general in our state to investigate and prosecute when appropriate all killings of mentally ill, whether armed or unarmed, by police. The killings must stop. Sanford Rubenstein

Insulting the Italians

Tappan, N.Y.: The removal of Christopher Columbus from Columbus Circle would be a spit in the face to every single one of the millions of hard- working Italian-Americans across the country. The statue was gifted to New York City by Italian immigrants in the 1890s. At that point in American history, Italians were one of the most persecuted ethnicities in the country. Need I remind many of you that the largest mass lynching in American history was not of African Americans, but of Italians in 1891 in New Orleans. Despite the discrimination, hostility and borderline hatred towards Italians, they still immigrated to America by the millions and were determined to do their part in making our country what it is today. The physical statue itself embodies everything that our country seems to be increasingly lacking today: the ability to understand, forgive and move forward together. The removal of the statue would just be another step in the wrong direction and further this pernicious trend of historical revisionism.

Phil Giulano Giglio Society of East Harlem

Historical reckoning

Trumbull, Conn.: Is America turning into a hate group like ISIS which has gone all over the world destroying thousands of precious artifacts that have left countries looking devastated and wartorn? Is this what we want here? We can’t change history or rewrite it. What happened hundreds of years ago cannot be changed now. The millions of people who love our country realize this. Will we let hate groups destroy what we have? A few thousand people who have hate in their hearts should not rule the millions of us who want peace. The white supremacists and alt-left haters want to destroy our country by tearing down statues and monuments and destroying our parks. Let these statues and monuments remain to show everyone how far we have come since then or we will end up looking like war-torn Europe after World War II. J.B. Pinto

ESPN’s cultural revolution

Manhattan: S.E. Cupp may consider herself a conservative Republican (which I am certainly not), but she took the words right outta my mouth (“After ESPN’s Robert Lee moment and other insanity, it’s clear: Trump has won the monument debate,” Aug. 23). What the heck is going on in ProgressiveLand? The most mind-boggling, eye-roll inducing act of pitifully misplaced political correctness is ESPN’s decision to remove sportscaster Robert Lee from his play-by-play gig for a University of Virginia football game solely because of his name! Oh, and by the way, Mr. Lee is Asian-American! Have we all lost our collective minds? Gary Stein

Sinking ESPN ship

Richmond: This is why ESPN is hemorrhaging viewers the last several years. People want unbiased sports coverage, not liberal opinion. I have not watched ESPN in years. Jon Woodrum

What’s in a name?

Manhattan: Mr. Lee did not object and could only go along with the switch. My grandfather was named Robert Lee but his father was Chinese and his mother was African American. It would be disheartening to learn my mixed grandfather’s tombstone could possibly be vandalized for the wrong reason (although there is no right reason) by possible supporters of those from whom he descended. I grew up in Brownsville (Brookyn) and am and have long been one of those supporters, but I am also not afraid and not so dishonest that I would perfunctorily support ESPN’s ill-thought out position when Asian American Pacific Islander principles dictate I shouldn’t. Christopher Lee

Start from the beginning

Oakland Gardens: I am all for getting rid of things that remind us of slavery and segregation as long as we begin with the Democratic Party. Mike Murphy

IDC, M.I.A.

Brooklyn: I have approached the Independent Democratic Conference with an open mind, trying to understand each member’s rationale (“Tax cuts or doom,” column, Aug. 21). After reading and listening, I am unable to come to a charitable conclusion about the IDC’s motivations. I understand Sen. Diane Savino’s point that the Democratic Party includes diverse officials and constituencies; some are more liberal than others. However, her assertion that some Democrats have unrealistic expectations about what a reunited Democratic Party could achieve makes little sense. Her statement about the Reproductive Health Act is one example of this cynicism. Seven in 10 Americans support Roe vs. Wade. Yet, the New York State Senate failed to enshrine Roe in state law by passing the RHA; Savino claims that the RHA was never brought to the floor for a vote because the votes were not there. In June, the IDC sent out a mailer chock full of verifiably untrue statements about IDC successes when it came to reproductive health and rights, including the declaration that the IDC had ensured the passage of the RHA. The IDC cannot have it both ways. They cannot claim to be the key to progressive legislation, prevent progressive legislation from ever being voted on, and then blame these failures on unrealistic expectations by liberal New Yorkers. Marta Schaaf

Misheard lyrics

Glen Allen, Va.: Not sure how George Harrison requested Donald Trump to not use his music. He died in 2001 (“President Trump gets what he wants, plays The Rolling Stones despite band’s request to stop,” Aug. 22). I’m sure you meant his heirs but you need to be careful. Not a fan of Trump but sick and tired of every single word he says being second-guessed and picked apart. Be more careful with your words or you may find yourself in hot water. Just saying. Sharon Parrish

The Jerry and Dean story

Ossining, N.Y.: I want to thank Voicer Arthur Bressler for his letter in tribute to Jerry Lewis. However, he made one mistake. Jerry and Dean Martin reunited at the 1976 Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. The reunion was the brainchild of Frank Sinatra and came ten years after the duo broke up and last spoke to each other. Sinatra had agreed to perform for the telethon and secretly planned to bring Martin with him for the now famous on-air reconciliation. This story is well told in Lewis’ wonderful memoir of their wildly successful partnership “Dean and Me, A Love Story.” Lewis, a huge part of my life growing up, will forever be woven into the fabric of our history and is an American treasure no less significant than Bob Hope or any of the other comedic giants of the 20th Century.

Robert Rundbaken

Diamond days

ALEX RUD Whitestone: My husband and I want to thank you for the tickets to Tuesday’s Mets-Diamondbacks game at Citi Field. The seats were fantastic and we had a great time, especially when the game got exciting toward the end. Thanks again. Linda Lent