Value of letter to editor discounted by reader

I'm not sure what value the editorial staff sees in publishing Tom Sass' monthly left-wing trolling efforts, but his calling out of Iowa's law enforcement officers in his last letter was weak by Sass' own low standards ('A surefire solution for no-texting law,” May 1).

Without a shred of evidence, he implies that African Americans are routinely stopped, arrested, charged and imprisoned for offenses as trivial as a missing plate light or expired tags.

In just the last few years, we have seen gun violence skyrocket in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Even North Liberty had a shootout last year. A Cedar Rapids police officer (Tim Davis) was nearly beaten to death in the line of duty five years ago.

If I were a law enforcement officer and had to stop a vehicle at 3 a.m. for crossing the center line, I, too, would approach that vehicle as if my life depended on my ability to defend myself. The race of the person in the car is a non-factor.

The fact the Iowa's prison population refects a higher incarceration rate of blacks than the general population is not proof of some kind of institutional racism, rather just the unfortunate reality of who has been found guilty in a court of law.

Most Iowa citizens are not taking the bait, Sass.

James Wolfe

Riverside