Police Residency and SWAT Team

* I vowed to remain disinterested in the debate about police officer residency in Los Angeles because it is really no more than a marginal issue which politicians love to jump into to appear to be doing something to improve the LAPD. But the Op-Ed piece by a local ACLU official cannot go unchallenged (April 11). It was asserted that a good method to increase city residency would be to provide low- or no-interest home mortgages, and low-rent or rent-free apartments. Because the city cannot afford such largess, the federal government could be called upon as such programs are provided by the feds for free.

This comment would be amusing if it did not represent the attitude of a large segment of the American population. It is also a major factor behind the $4.4-trillion debt that our children are facing. Government programs are not free, they are paid for by the hard work of people who pay taxes. And in the end, they are really paid for by the profits of businesses that employ those people.

If any level of government has surplus funds, let’s spend it helping L.A.’s street cops by adding to their ranks, providing competitive salaries and equipment, and effectively building a Police Department capable of handling the mounting problems it faces as it marches toward the 21st Century. Jumping on the bandwagon of every unproven theory about how to improve urban policing is simply the illusion of progress and reform.

GREGORY R. BERG, Commander

Los Angeles Police Department

* It was with a great deal of interest that I read the article regarding the first female police officer admitted to the LAPD SWAT team (April 7). I am a retired LAPD officer and was a member of SWAT when it was originated in the late 1960s.

From the information in the article it appears that the only reason Officer Nina Damianakes was selected was because of her lawsuit. She tried and failed the standard test for admittance twice. I am not discrediting the officer for her service as a police officer but rather her attempt to integrate a unit whose standards for admittance are extremely difficult to achieve. There is a good reason for that, as pointed out in your article. If Officer Damianakes suffered stress simply applying for the position, who knows what would happen to her or those around her in a real field SWAT situation.

This to me is just another example of lowering the LAPD standards to meet the applicants instead of bringing the applicants up to meet the standards.

DAVID L. WARREN

Beverly Hills