To the editor:

Justice, what does it mean? Does anyone know? I see people on TV news almost every day crying for justice. Because one of their family members was shot by police and they want justice. Well the last time I knew justice was when a criminal had to answer for a crime he committed. It seems that now it is when a police officer is charged with a crime when he stops a criminal from committing a crime. There is something wrong with that picture.

We want justice but we don’t want the criminal hurt. I do not think that these people have the slightest idea what justice means. It certainly does not mean to make millionaires out of families of people hurt while being stopped by police.

Criminals need to be stopped by what means necessary. If they choose to run or to fight then the results fall directly on them. An officer should never be charged for doing his duty and stopping the criminal. The law was designed to protect the law-abiding citizen but it seems that is being used to protect the criminal.

Why would anyone ever want to be a policeman? The men and women of law enforcement as a rule are honest dedicated people and deserve the protection of the law that they serve. If the trend does not change, our country is going to be ruled by the thugs, bullies and criminals. They are going to do what they want, take what they want and defy you to do anything about it.

The Derek Chauvin trial was a classic example. George Floyd was committing a crime; that is why the police were called. They didn’t just show up and say man here is my chance to hurt a black man. They were trying to detain a person they thought was trying to commit a crime. The decision to break the law was his decision, the decision to resist the police was his decision. Therefore the end results rest directly on him.

We need to wake up to reality. Place the blame where it belongs. I think that Officer Chauvin overreacted at a time of high stress. If guilty he should be reprimanded but certainly not convicted of murder. I do not think that he intended to kill Floyd. I don’t think it was about black and white. I think it was about lawful and unlawful. Does anyone for one minute really think that the conviction of Officer Chauvin was justice? If so, I need a new dictionary. Or was it a sacrificial ritual for the benefit of pacifying the protesters?

Bernard Levings

Great Bend