Police standards

To the editor:

I spent a career of nearly 30 years in law enforcement. Retiring in 2014, I have sat back and watched the last several months of what has gone on here in Marion.

I was a deputy for a few years here, then was hired by Kansas Highway Patrol. After several years of being a road trooper, I transferred to the canine unit where I handled an explosive-detection and patrol dog.

After several years of this, I became a canine trainer for KHP, also still handling an explosive-detection and patrol dog, and an assistant bomb tech, also.

You can imagine the amount of training and certifications I had to maintain.

This job allowed me to have contact with the FBI, DEA, U.S. marshals, U.S. Army, and the Secret Service. I even wrote canine deployment plans for the Secret Service for presidential visits to different venues.

I am writing this letter is the powers-to-be that will decide who Marion’s next police chief and officers will be after what has taken place here.

Incompetence cannot be tolerated at any time. That is the reason the city is in the boat it currently sits in. Officers need to be tested and keep continuing education up to par.

The responsibility that comes with being a policeman and making decisions that are within the law cannot be taken lightly or have no thought process going with it.

Decisions made here that I personally have witnessed don’t look favorable on decision making. These officers should be tested on knowledge of the law on a regular basis.

An example of poor decision making is warrants for the newspaper and homes.

Another is watching a Marion County deputy and a Marion police officer chase a captain of the KHP who was coming to visit me up my home’s driveway. They demanded that he identify himself because he made a traffic stop in Marion.

Another is an injury accident in the city limits where nothing was done. No evidence was taken, and who the driver was wasn’t even determined. The next day another officer had to investigate the accident, which caused no charges to ever be filed because there was no evidence. That is incompetence.

These are a few things to consider as you make these decisions. Please don’t take it lightly as this will fall on your shoulders.

Let’s keep all citizens of this city and county safe. Officers have to be competent and know their job without taking shortcuts.

Roger Maag, Marion