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In the city with the highest rate of HIV infection in the country, you would think our police officers would be smarter than to take condoms from the people who need them most. Thanks to your recent cover story (“The Beat Goes On,” 12/5), we now know that’s not true.

What happens when you take condoms away from someone who is so desperate for money—whether it be to buy her next fix or to feed her hungry kids—that she sells her body on the street? She sells her body on the street without protection. Thanks, Officer Mike Smith, for putting all of our lives in more danger.

Natasha Zoë Price

Capitol Hill