Here we go again Ms Geddry. The very thing you accuse "small minded, mean spirited" of you doing to Mr. Foster, you are doing to the Coquille Police Dept. You paint with your broad brush and claim we are a "community at RISK", because of our police dept. But Ms Geddry do you know any of our officers or what they go through in a day on the job? You write of your daughters knowing Officer Webley, but do not mention if you know him. I suspect you know none of the officers, other than on a professional basis. You love to throw your slings and arrows at the uniform without ever looking at the person wearing it. To me, you are dehumanizing them so you can justify your comments.
Since I am married to a Coquille Police officer, I know them all quite well. Let me tell you a little about them. They are all honest, hardworking people. Everyday they go to work, put on a bulletproof vest, a gun, handcuffs, a badge, and a radio as their lifeline. Police put their LIVES AT RISK to keep

our community safe.
Our officers work in the most stressful environment you can imagine. They see things everyday you would not let your children go see in a movie or on TV and still manage to retain their humanity.
Officers work traffic control, to keep our streets safe. They must be mediators to disputes that have gone on for years. They must be calm and levelheaded when everything around them is chaotic. They offer a strong and sympathetic shoulder to lean on for those in need. In short we expect the police to be all things to all people in every situation.
These are good men and women with family and friends who respect, honor, and love them. We get upset when people verbally attack our loved ones in the press, just as you would, Ms Geddry.
While we understand this is part of the job and that everyone has the right to free speech, we continually hope that before you put pen to paper you would look at the person and not see just a uniform. Before you sling your arrows, get all the facts and both sides of the story.
Signed,
Tamara Ulmer