Chris Churchill puts his finger on a serious problem in his Advocate column on the case of Officer Brian Lutz ("Decision reeks, beyond a reasonable doubt," Nov. 24). If police can't police their own, law enforcement breaks down.
In this particular case, good police work was undone by a judge who might have had a conflict of interest. As Mr. Churchill says, "when (Lisa Anne) Proskin's not a part-time judge, she's a lawyer for a firm that handles DWI cases." Knowing not only that your fellow officers will ostracize you for doing your job but the judge will side with the defense can cause police officers to decide that it is not worth pursuing cases against their own, no matter how solid the evidence.
Perhaps the best approach might be a simple technical solution. Every patrol car needs to be fitted with a machine that requires the driver to blow into it before the car starts. If the machine detects alcohol, the car doesn't start.
Of course, any machine can be defeated. But what we really want is to keep drunks off the road where their erratic driving, poor judgment and poor coordination can cause lethal accidents. And maybe that is the best way to reduce the problem of drunken officers on the road rather than depending on fellow officers and other law enforcement system officials to do the right thing when they come upon what looks like an inebriated law enforcement officer.
Robert L. Fisher
Delmar