Department filled with caring professionals

It’s my privilege to write a letter in support of the Sandpoint Police Department after reading the negative article in the Aug. 12 Bee, accompanied by a photo of a ragtag flyer showing the silhouette of a police officer clubbing a man on the ground.

Let me first state for the record that I’m not affiliated with Sandpoint Police and don’t know anyone there. What I do know is that in the years I’ve lived here my impression of the police officers with whom I’ve had contact has been unfailingly favorable — they were helpful and courteous.

Not much happens crimewise in our neighborhood, but I received the same positive feedback from a lady who lived alone, close to us, and was frightened by a night-time attempt by someone breaking into her garage. Two officers responded instantly and took care of it.

We don’t hear nearly enough kudos for our police department, but when something does go awry, as it invariably will in any department, or an officer makes a mistake, it makes the front page and the blogs go wild. Perhaps precisely because there is so little in negative news about the department, when something does happen that bears reporting, it gets sensationalized out of proportion?