Police Beating of Plainclothes Officer

I am writing in response to the article titled “Plainclothes Vice Officer Beaten by 2 in Uniform,” (Metro, Dec. 17).

Your article about the incident doesn’t bring out what is the most disturbing part of the whole situation. Since when do police officers have the right to drag people out of their cars, beat them up, and handcuff them? If a police officer in plainclothes can’t keep himself from being mistreated like this, what am I going to do if some night after a late movie I get lost and drift into the wrong neighborhood? Do I now have to worry about running into a police officer on a late night?

This is not just an internal affair. Someone from the LAPD had better give the citizens they “serve and protect” some explanations and some reassurance about our safety.

PHILIP MATERO

Santa Monica