The Dec. 11 commentary "Who wants to be a Minneapolis cop?" by Richard Harris noted the number of Minneapolis officers had dropped, discussed the need for exit interviews and that it's an "opportunity for us to get better." Since less than 4% of an officer's time is spent handling violent crime, training needs to be updated to what police actually do.
I see the problem differently. In the hours after George Floyd's death, four officers were fired without an investigation. They were vilified by our president, governor, mayor and attorney general. Derek Chauvin, a "bad" cop, was properly convicted and sentenced. What about the other three? Tou Thao was doing his job of crowd control. J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, on the force less than a week, were following orders of a superior officer. Lane asked if Floyd should be rolled over and was rebuked by the "bad" cop. (Per Lane's sentencing judge, more character letters were sent on his behalf than any other defendant he had ever sentenced). Each of them was convicted and sentenced to prison for failing to do things they weren't properly trained to handle. With the weight of politics and cancel culture, they were made an example.
If I worked in a position where I could be found guilty in the court of public opinion, I would choose another profession. If I was a potential recruit, I would be looking at other occupations. We are getting what our leaders and community have asked for. Heaven help us.
William Drehmel, Minneapolis
The Dec. 14 Star Tribune article on 15% ethanol blends, or E15, contains several inaccuracies and misleading statements ("E15 ethanol could go year-round"). The legislation introduced recently by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig would not "peel back an ozone-protection regulation," as the reporter asserted. It would simply remove a nonsensical, decades-old regulatory barrier that has had the unintended consequence of preventing broader sales of E15 in the summertime.
In fact, vehicle testing conducted this year by the University of California, with support from the California EPA, shows that E15 reduces the potential for ozone compared to today's standard gasoline, while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions. And for evidence of E15's price savings at the pump, just go to any one of the 442 stations offering the fuel in Minnesota. One out of every five gas stations in the state sells E15, and data from the Commerce Department shows that E15 has been priced 25 cents per gallon lower than regular gasoline, on average, over the last four months. If there's any "greenwashing" going on, it's the article's claim that electric vehicles "lack fuel-burning emissions." To the contrary, half of the electricity (i.e., fuel for EVs) generated in Minnesota comes from burning coal and natural gas, and electricity generation is the top source of industrial greenhouse gas emissions in the state.
