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PrintOpen letter to City Council and Citizens of Columbia:
As many of you are already aware, we had another shooting in Columbia within the last 24 hours.
Columbia Police Department Chief Ken Burton should be fired, and a full investigation of the department should take place from an outside source.
We have shootings and robberies on a regular basis now. My daughter was robbed at gunpoint. One of the reasons we moved to Columbia and chose MU over Baylor and other schools (one son qualified for Harvard) was because Columbia was rated in a national magazine as one of the safest places in America to live.
There are people in Columbia now who do not even want to talk to the police. The feeling of safety is gone for a lot of people. There are some big questions as to why the citizens are treated the way they are treated.
Before the past year, I have always had the deepest respect forpolice officers. There is no incident in my life where I have had a criminal record, or where I have not complied completely with officers. I have helped them with line-ups to catch lawbreakers.
If citizens cannot trust the police, then who can we trust?
Delcia Crockett is a Columbia resident.
Show Me the Errors 
Comments
Delcia: I simply do not understand your letter.
You state there has been another shooting, you state your daughter was robbed at gunpoint, you state folks do not want to talk to the police.....and you blame the Chief and the police?????????
Huh?
Sorry, but I'm not following that particular logic.
You moved to Columbia so your son could come to school here?
Columbia is the main "stop" on the drug highway for the state. It is absolutely no surprise that crime has increased in the community. Don't kid yourself. Drugs breed violence; always have, always will. The problem in our community is not the police, it is the criminals. I do agree that our police chief is way too political and does not back up his officers the way he should, but the rank and file of our police department are outstanding. People don't want to talk to the police? Who are you spending time with? Perhaps you should reevaluate your expectations and your friendships. I don't know anyone who is unwilling/afraid of our police. wow.
I haven't seen numbers for the past six months or so, but the stats kept by the Highway Patrol show that crime rates in Columbia remain essentially unchanged over the past several years.
Melinda: "I don't know anyone who is unwilling/afraid of our police."
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Me, neither. And I probably wouldn't want to.