Safe community: Fremont's attempt to oust crime should be supported, not nitpicked

Shame on those in Fremont who have decided that their decision not to wear their seat belts should dismantle their community's efforts to stop the tide of crime in their town.

And double shame on town leaders if they do anything other than encourage the police chief's efforts to tell drug dealers and other potential criminals that if they loiter in Fremont, they are going to get caught.

Those who gathered at the meeting of the town council this week came to complain about harassment, saying they were cited for seat belts and rolling stops. They forgot to mention, in a couple cases, that they had already been warned to wear their seatbelts.

Others said that blacks were being targeted in Fremont and that the police chief and his officers were running their own little police state -- harassing innocent citizens.

We will forget for the moment that the police chief is black -- and is very unlikely to have orchestrated a campaign to arrest and harass blacks in his town.

Let's just look at the facts.

Fremont has had problems for a number of years with drugs and other crimes. Residents have complained about that fact for a number of years.

Chief R.K. Rawlings decided that the best way to get rid of thugs in his community was to "harass" them when they are standing around, waiting to cause trouble.

And that is what he has done.

It is possible that there might be a few innocent citizens who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They should have nothing to worry about. And, they should be grateful that someone is standing up to those who choose to break the law and to put every person who lives in Fremont in danger.

And as for those seat belts and stop sign violations -- those are easily taken care of, too. Just follow the rules, then there is no danger of getting a ticket.

Published in Editorials on August 19, 2010 11:09 AM