Call for Gates to Resign

In response to “For Chief Daryl Gates, the Moment Has Come” (editorial, March 19): I want to thank The Times for its editorial about why Chief Daryl Gates must hand in his resignation.

You see, I’m a black citizen of Los Angeles. I was raised in Georgia and this feels like living in the pre-civil rights era in Los Angeles.

The police use polarizing words just giving jaywalking or parking tickets. Now on the voice tapes from the Rodney King case we hear the racially disparaging comments from the officers (March 19).

Do the citizens of Los Angeles want the world to see our city as a new racist stronghold?

I feel the officers in the King case will be whitewashed by the system. They will do a few months in a luxury jail at taxpayers’ expense.

All the officers should be fired. Color is not the issue. But to Chief Gates and his officers, there are lots of hard-working law-abiding citizens, black and Latino, who now have no respect for your officers who have used brute force on minorities for years and got off scot-free. Well no more, Mr. Gates. You are a shame and the nation and world now know about your terror and ugliness.

MIKE DAVIDSON, Los Angeles