Letters to the Editor (Jan. 13)

Capitalism better than CIDS

It seems that Wichita has found a back door to raise sales taxes without inflaming the consumers.

I am constantly reading in The Eagle that the City Council is considering (or passing) sales tax increases, some as high as 2 percent, in selected areas of the city to benefit some developer or another. Whatever happened to capitalism, where developers took the risk and enjoyed whatever rewards came of it without being subsidized by the taxpayer/consumer?

Perhaps The Eagle would publish a map of all Community Improvement Districts and how much additional sales tax those areas charge. That would allow consumers to make an educated decision as to what areas and what businesses they are willing to support with their extra tax dollars.

Don’t assume compliance is easy

Regarding the Dec. 28 shooting involving the swatting call to police, a comment in a recent Opinion Line says, “Failure to comply with officers’ orders … it shouldn’t be that difficult to do.”

I can imagine myself in the victim’s position, blinded by lights, with perhaps a dozen or more people yelling, not in unison but in an incoherent babble with background noise; perhaps not sure or even realizing they were yelling at me, not at all aware of what led to this circumstance.

If I’d been in the victim’s position, knowing me, I may have dropped to the floor, backed inside, slammed the door and called 911. And maybe had a gun handy. I’m not saying that would be the smart response.

I’m not ready to blame the police. I would hope their training would prepare them, but they would still be just as uncertain as this victim of what they were facing. I trust those responsible to investigate, evaluate, and respond appropriately.

That leaves us with the person who set this tragedy in motion. I have no doubts about him.

Officer followed his training

The recent Eagle editorial suggesting that the officer involved in the shooting of an unarmed man as a result of a swatting prank may share culpability was way off. The officer did what police are trained to do, protect. In their minds, hostages in that house were in imminent danger. The decision to fire occurs in a split second. Both officer and victim were losers in this idiotic prank.

Tyler Bariss, who is charged with making the swatting call, bears the bulk of the blame and should be prosecuted accordingly. Further, we need new laws to address abuse of emergency numbers.

Our police are soldiers at home and must be supported by the public. They go out each day into a climate of hatred and disrespect, some of which is fueled by the media. They are under fire as much as any soldier and never know if they won’t return to their families.

The Eagle editorial board owes this officer and the police department a public apology for suggesting that the officer may share in the blame. Support our police. Don’t grind them publicly under your heel.

This story was originally published January 13, 2018 at 3:51 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (Jan. 13)."