How Many Cops Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

It is nice that Philip Eure (The Mail, 8/23) took the time to write to the Washington City Paper. It is too bad he doesn’t have the time to do his job.

I filled out one of those complaint forms he wrote about. I got back a reply about two weeks later saying that the complaint was being remanded (now, where have we seen that word before?) to the police department for further action (that is, if they choose to do anything). I was told by an underworked and overpaid employee of this department how “hard” they worked on it. (I rather doubt that.) It appears to me that this is one useless, worthless waste of taxpayers’ money.

I was mugged, and instead of getting a police officer, I got a professional grinner. It seems that going after the mugger would have been too much effort for him. I was interrogated as though I had started it. It looks as if I got one of the 90-percenters Jason Cherkis talked about (“The Insider’s Guide to Real Policing,” 8/16).

Anyway, one question I’ve always wanted to know about the police department wasn’t answered in the article. I was wondering why it takes five police officers to check out a vendor’s license—and it takes at least a half-hour. I’ve seen it happen several times over the past 10 years, so I know it wasn’t an aberration. I get the feeling this is like one of those bad ethnic jokes.

Alexandria, Va.