In the days and weeks since the police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, I have expected to hear and read about more interviews with local police chiefs to assure us that those scenes cannot happen here: “Our police see themselves in our communities, and our communities see themselves in our police.”

I have expected to hear that minorities are better represented on our police forces – that we do not fire multiple rounds into unarmed suspects; we do not fire at anyone with his hands in the air; we do not leave a dead body uncovered for hours on the street.

I’ve expected to hear that we do not immediately militarize our police at the first sign of protest or even looting, and that our police are better trained to handle protests and riots than the police in Ferguson.

I’ve expected to hear that we don’t even have some of the military hardware we saw in Ferguson, and that our officers are well trained in the appropriate use of what military hardware we do have.

I’ve expected to hear that we do not hide from the truth or selectively leak information, that we have much better transparency with the public than the police in Ferguson, and that we do not arrest journalists for doing their jobs.

Where are the reports and interviews? Have I missed something?

Allan Neff

South Portland