Protecting lives by training cops

Jackson Heights: It’s bad enough that the Daily News published Voicer John Scott’s racist letter, but to do so under the banner headline “What about those white lives?” is truly inexcusable. He cites the case of Dillon Taylor (right), saying it was mistaken identity. It was not. A 911 call had been made that three individuals were acting suspiciously and one had displayed a gun. The description given was sufficient to identify Taylor and his two compatriots. Two of them raised their hands and Taylor turned toward the officers. Scott omits that Taylor had a felony warrant outstanding against him and had posted on Facebook days earlier very dangerous thoughts.

The real irony of Scott’s letter is that if he were fair-minded he would see that Taylor’s family and the Black Lives Matter campaign have a goal in common: better training of the police. In a lawsuit against the Salt Lake City Police Department, Taylor’s family argues that in their training, officers are shown a video depicting police being killed because they did not react soon enough to a threat. Joel Weber

Blown in ’Bama

Bronx: How naive could Donald Trump have been to support Roy Moore for Senate? The outcome of that election has certainly cast a pall on his leadership ability. It does not bode well for what is left of his presidency. Perhaps he is not aware that many of our citizens are guided by their own moral compass, which he does not seem to have. Donald, why did you endorse and campaign for a pervert and child molester? Your going to bat for a man of ill repute will no doubt do further damage to our party in the next national election. The GOP was inept in allowing you to hijack the party in the first place. Oh, for shame. It will be a steep climb back to the apex. J. Crestwell Munnings

Parks have cleaned up

Manhattan: The Dec. 18 Op-Ed by John Krinsky and Maud Simonet, “Playgrounds for sexual harassers,” inaccurately suggests that NYC Parks is complacent when it comes to sexual harassment. Nothing could be further from the truth — and I have taken strong action not only to root out sexual harassment from the agency, but to create structures that promote gender equity. Since I took office in 2014, NYC Parks has embarked on an agencywide effort to end the subculture of harassment in the agency, particularly among our Parks Opportunity Program (POP) workers in the field. Our commitment to a zero-tolerance policy comes from the very top of the agency, which is why one of our first changes was to elevate our lead equal employment opportunity staff to an executive position. Our assistant commissioner for equal employment opportunity has led a targeted effort to diversify our recruitment strategies and has made anti-sexual harassment training a core element of our employee orientation. At the start of 2018, NYC Parks will launch a citywide internal campaign to increase awareness of our zero-tolerance policy, help workers identify sexual harassment and direct them how to report it. The tactics include a first-ever Male Allies program, which will reinforce that “locker-room talk” and like behavior is not acceptable. All the while, the POP program is flourishing as the longest-running transitional employment program in the country. Started in 1994, it trains and places POP workers in employment in a variety of sectors including maintenance, security, health care and transportation, where they are a crucial part of the labor force in and outside the agency. NYC Parks hires about 4,500 POP workers a year. Parks’ mission is to build communities around high-quality open space, and in order to do that, we must foster a safe and inclusive community within our own agency. Parks has come a long way since the incidents that were reported in 2013.

Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver

Go easy

Staten Island: Re: “High school cheerleading coach accused of having sex with student” (Nov. 16): I understand the morality issue here; however, in today’s world, sex is rampant and open. I’m sure the boy did not complain. Yes, the teacher used very bad judgment, but she should not be fired, but made to seek help.

Lawrence J. Boliak

Too much work

Jackson Heights: Re “OT for Xmas” (Dec. 10): Good article about the conditions UPS workers are facing. Forget about holiday decorations — with only one break a day in this 70-hour workweek, when do you eat dinner fueling your body so you can get up and work the next day? This is why workers need unions. Hopefully, Local 804 will defend and mobilize their workforce.

Barbara Mutnick

Still a traitor

Spring Hill, Fla.: I send 80th birthday greetings to Jane Fonda, and I am so glad that she still has her memories. We have ours also. We remember when she went to North Vietnam and took photos with North Vietnamese soldiers while sitting on their tank. We remember when she met with American prisoners and they passed notes to her to be brought back to the U.S. We remember that she turned those notes over to their captors. We remember that those Americans were severely punished for those notes. We remember that when she came back she was not arrested, as she should have been. Yes, Jane, memories are wonderful!

Patricia Safuto

Mueller defending America

Keene Valley, N.Y.: Re “Last stand in duty vs. dirty” (Dec. 18): This is, without a doubt, the best column Mike Lupica has written in a long and distinguished career. Keep it up, Michael. You are carrying a torch for all of us journalists. Victor Bennett Forbes

Editor-in-Chief Fine Art Magazine

Share the wealth

Greenburgh, N.Y.: President Trump and many of the members of Congress who voted for the tax bill will become richer because of their actions. And many middleclass New Yorkers will become poorer. I think the President has a conflict of interest. Why should he and members of Congress be able to personally profit from their actions when they are intentionally hurting residents who live in blue states? The personal profits the President and members of Congress could make from the new law shouldn’t go to them but to a fund to help those who experience extraordinary hardships as a result of their actions. Paul Feiner

Taking the cake

East Meadow, L.I.: To Voicer Karen Meyer Campbell: It is admirable how your family chain immigrated to the United States and contributed to our country. It is admirable how they built up Entenmann’s. What is despicable is how Entenmann’s current owners, Bimbo, closed the Bay Shore plant in order to get rid of 178 unionized employees.

Richard Skibins

Truth about police misconduct

Manhattan: Since Mayor Dinkins and the City Council made the Civilian Complaint Review Board an all-civilian independent agency nearly a quarter century ago, the CCRB has been pursuing allegations of police misconduct and presenting data on policecommunity relations. The Op-Ed by Council members Joe Borelli, Chaim Deutsch and Paul Vallone (“‘Right to Know’ will handcuff our cops,” Dec. 17) merits clarifying how the CCRB categorizes allegations. The Council members combined several distinct categories of dispositions to arrive at 87% being unsubstantiated — FACEBOOK implying that any allegation that was not substantiated was false. Simply because an allegation was not substantiated does not mean the allegation was filed falsely. For example, an allegation will not be substantiated if misconduct occurred but the officer responsible was not identified (10%). Similarly, an allegation will not be substantiated if an officer committed the conduct but it was lawful (28%). Frederick Davie

Acting chair, Civilian Complaint Review Board

Rape victims always suffer

Brooklyn: I am a 56-year-old woman. When I was 16, I was raped by a nurse whose care I had been under when I was in the hospital. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t even think to call it rape then because I had gone to his apartment after he invited me in to talk. I didn’t know what to do when he attacked. I was too afraid. I never thought anyone would believe me. I didn’t understand what happened to me. This rape changed my life into one of depression and suicide attempts. I have been in therapy for years and now have a strong grip on my mental health. However, the daily reports of sexual abuse by so many men is a constant trigger and has me in a state of crisis. I listen to people debate why the women waited so long to speak out. That they should have moved on, or they must be lying. I am still ashamed I did not report the nurse who raped me. I am still struggling. That was 40 years ago.

Lisa Bryan