Teach kids a different lesson

By Michael Kreps, Las Vegas

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 | 2 a.m.

I found Mike Smith’s recent editorial cartoon depicting a mother telling her child to “watch out for the police” rather disturbing. It sends children the wrong message.

Instead, the mother should have told her child to respect police; comply with their commands; don’t try to punch them, try to take away their weapon or point a toy pistol at them; don’t put your hands in your pockets when they are talking to you; and if they tell you that you are under arrest and to put your hands up, do it. You might also want to tell them not to take property that belongs to another person or business without paying for it first.

Tell your children that in a civilized society, when we feel we have been wronged by another person or by a police officer, we can later file a complaint with the police department or get an attorney and file a lawsuit. As the old saying goes, “Don’t take the law into your own hands,” because if you do, you might get killed.

Tell your children that police have a difficult job and do not wake up every day thinking of ways to harass or annoy you. Tell them that in every 58-hour period, one police officer loses his/her life protecting us. They, like all of us, want to make sure they get to go home after each shift. They work to protect us and our property from criminals and keep society civil.