Letters

I would like to offer my suggestions to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office as well as other police departments that may read this letter on how they may go about apprehending suspected felons:

1.Replace all German shepherds with Saint Bernards. These dogs should be equipped with a container of high-quality wine and have saddlebags that have cheese and crackers. This would help set the proper ambiance for an arrest.

2.Dogs should not be sent into buildings after criminals, nor should there be perimeter searches set up with police officers and helicopters, because as Mr. Samarco said, "it gets kind of nerve-wracking." Instead, I suggest the police departments send an invitation to the suspected perpetrator with a ten-day R.S.V.P. (Maybe Hallmark could make up some nice card.)

3.The words "POLICE WORK DOG" and "CAUTION, CANINE" should be taken off all police cruisers as this could sound offensive to any of our local felons. I suggest instead we put "POLICE PLAY DOG," and have pictures with the Saint Bernard on the side of the car instead of the German shepherd that is presently on most vehicles.

4.The next time the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office or any police department needs to apprehend any suspected felon, I suggest that they contact the noted attorney, Jim Green, who is a dubious expert on how felons should be apprehended. Obviously, this will save money in the long run as well as [prevent] hurt feelings.

I hope that these suggestions are taken to heart, and I do hope that you will do an article on where the average citizen could purchase a retired German shepherd police dog (since they all will be retiring soon). As an average Joe Citizen, I am afraid that possibly I may someday soon run into our local felons, and I may need some sort of protection as my local police department may no longer have the necessary tools to protect me and my loved ones.

Marlon Luis
Hollywood

Rusty Should Take His Biting Like a Man
In regard to Paul Belden's article "Biting Back," I believe that something here is being overlooked. Mr. [Rusty] Samarco is a criminal. Whether it's a DUI or a murder charge, a law-enforcement official has every right to use any means necessary to stop and detain a person breaking the law.

I, and I'm sure every other decent person in the world, am tired of hearing criminals boo-hoo about how they are treated by the police. Did they ever stop and think about how they were treating others when they chose to commit their crimes? When Mr. Samarco committed assault the day he was bitten, was he thinking about the pain and suffering he was inflicting on that person? No, because he was too busy being his mother's "little hyper baby." Maybe his mother should have spent a little more time teaching [him] right from wrong and a little less time babying him. Maybe then he wouldn't be in this mess.

I'm sure that the only reason he's crying so much about all this is because now he won't be able to run away when he breaks the law. But at least he'll get exactly what he's always wanted while I and all of the other law-abiding citizens work to pay the taxes that will cover his bill. We'll get to support him and pay the costs of his stupid lawsuit.

Mr. Samarco got exactly what he deserved. No, I take that back. What he deserved was having the dog bite him in the ass, maybe then he would have gotten the message.

Melissa Sindle
Hallandale

A Pox on Your Putter!
Old golfers never die, they just lose their balls! This letter is in response to the letter from golf course superintendent Jeff Deloian (Letters, "You Spray, You Don't Pay, So Sayeth the Greenskeeper," April 16). If Mr. Deloian wants "factual statistics" about health effects of pesticides, he should look up recent medical studies on cancer rates for golf course superintendents, which are elevated, especially for smokers.

Women golf pros have been hard hit with breast cancer in recent years. A number of young male athletes have suffered from testicular cancer in the past decade, necessitating surgical castration in some cases. Endocrine-disrupting, estrogen-mimicking chemicals in pesticides are named as causes of cancer and birth defects in children by many distinguished authorities, like Dr. Samuel Epstein and Dr. Marion Moses. And then there are the alligators with tiny penises in Lake Apopka, following massive pesticide spills in the lake.

We need more pesticide-free parks and golf courses so folks can have a choice if they wish to avoid chemical exposures.

"Mermaid Susan" B. Peterson
Fort Lauderdale