Letter to the Editor: Take a moment to give thanks to NPD

I was glad to see NCSD superintendent Tom Messinger publicly thanking police Chief Burdess and our great police department for the way they handled a recent threat to our schools. It seems our entire community owes these brave officers a huge thank you for not only their selfless service, but for the professional way they interact with everyone living in Newton. The fact that students, parents and school staff felt so comfortable approaching our officers during such a tense situation is a testament to the quality of their training and to the positive relationships they have cultivated among residents of Newton.

This is quite the contrast from what we’ve seen around here lately, where we had one young man make a huge stink over being temporarily inconvenienced from a traffic stop that resulted in no charges and no injuries other than hurt feelings, and we saw an opportunistic agitator who decided to take advantage of the situation to get his name in the news by showing up at public meetings and declaring that our entire police force is led by and filled with “fascists’'. And the fact that so many residents went online to jump on this agitator’s “anti-police” bandwagon disgusted me and is an embarrassment to this town.

Our police officers are human, they sometimes make mistakes. But that shouldn’t distract from the fact that we live in a community that is relatively safe, where our police go out of their way to get to know the citizens they are protecting, and who set a great example for our young people. Other communities are not so lucky.

So as we are giving thanks this Thanksgiving, let’s take a moment to also give thanks to our Newton Police Department for what they do and the respectful way they perform their duties.

We owe them at least that much.

John Moore

Newton