Letter: Black Lives Matter group overlooks root cause of police encounters

Kudos to the Wayne County Black Lives Matter movement for demonstrating 1,000 consecutive days "against police abuse."

The (Wooster) Daily Record story about the protest appeared Feb. 26 on the website of the Ashland Times-Gazette, a sister publication.

A peaceful protest that long is quite a feat, requiring a lot of dedication and determination. Very impressive!

Another viewpointLetter: Why rally for Black Lives Matter 1,000 days later? Because inequality remains

That said, maybe the protestors should think about something.

Yes, we know there are some bad cops out there, but I’m betting the vast majority are good and decent people who are a real credit to their uniform.

But what the protestors seem to be overlooking is the starting point of an encounter with a police officer, and that starting point all too often is some form of wrongdoing, whether speeding, robbing a bank or possessing illicit drugs.

If you don’t violate the law, you’re unlikely ever to have an officer knocking on your door, with or without a warrant.

And what about disobeying a lawful order from an officer or fleeing from him or her or resisting arrest? Whose fault is that?

I believe it’s high time we start focusing on who’s generally causing issues with the police in the first place; it’s the lawbreakers!

Finally, protestors like those in Wooster need to know that by emphasizing Black Lives Matter, they will never win me over. That probably doesn’t matter to them, but others might share my sentiments.

To me, all lives matter, regardless of race or ethnicity, and everyone should be treated with dignity, respect and kindness.

The protestors should try advocating that, and urge people to obey laws too.

Jeff L. Reed, Ashland

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Black Lives Matter group overlooks root cause of police encounters