Letter to the editor: Irony of blacks' mistrust of police

In watching the honoring of Pittsburgh Police Officer Calvin Hall, I was struck by the irony of it all.

Here was a policeman, an African-American, so very well respected by his colleagues both black and white and his superiors. Earlier on there were words of respect from Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who was Braddock’s mayor when Hall served that city.

And yet, so very many black communities throughout our country have a strong mistrust of police, the thousands of decent cops smeared by the actions of so very, very few. Sad.

There are four distinct careers that, if one doesn’t honestly care about people, he/she does not belong in: medicine, law enforcement (including firefighting), teaching and the ministry.

As an African-American man, I believe many in our black communities are guilty of the one thing they decry: stereotyping. Hall was a genuine credit to both his race and his profession.

George O. West

Ligonier