I appreciate Lakewood's police. Off the top of my head, I'm glad that they
- appear on the scene quickly at each car crash
- invite the community to casual conversation with members of the force, pretty much every month I think
- have shown patience in handling various quarrel-driven calls which probably did not need to be made
I suppose they and I recognize that life works this way, even so. The treatment of Ms. Robinson did bring some measure of discredit to the department, because it did not measure up to the standard which we should and typically can expect of LPD.
I'm glad that the standard is higher, and I have an impression that the force does wish to keep it that way; I hope that they will succeed.
Meanwhile we have another spreading mess, and as information trickles alongside, it seems like more-helpful leadership higher up the chain of command could have benefited everyone.