Dear Editor:Over a time period I have noticed a change in the attitude in the Downey Police Department. Last year there was a knock on my front door during the afternoon hours. When I opened the door I was staring at about six officers with their hands on their handguns. One of the officers told me someone had reported gun shots from my residence. I was a bit perplexed having heard no gun shots and my wife was resting on the sofa next to me when I was working on my computer. One of the officers seemed to be interested to enter my home just to make sure. I declined his offer as all was fine in my home and so was my wife. All of a sudden one of the officers had the brilliant idea to ask for our phone number. Then it became fact that this crank call did not originate from my home. Some sick teenager had made that call and repeated it the following day. Having a somewhat logical mind, I found it interesting that it did not occur to one of them to check the phone number before knocking on my door. Last month I had an incident with my neighbor which forced me to call 911. First a female officer appeared and 20 minutes later a backup officer showed up. They went through their routine and - without going into details - I came to the conclusion both lacked the ability to detect credibility but preferred to take the politically correct action, doing nothing but writing reports. Worst of all, none of the officers had the courtesy to introduce themselves. Forget about a display of compassion for the accuser, a 76-year-old tax-paying citizen. I have come to this conclusion: if you are a law-abiding senior citizen, middle-class and have a certain accent, you have three options: leave Downey, leave California or obtain the tools to protect your family and property. My observations also reflect on the performance of the leaders of the city of Downey, which once was called Little Beverly Hills. This will be my last contribution to the citizens of Downey and its police department. - Dieter Oltersdorf, Downey

********** Published: March 12, 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 47