Battling Grief on Both Sides of the Law

Re “Oakland Police: Success Story or Scandal?” Dec. 3: We are sorry for Jervis Muwwakkil’s loss. We, too, lost our son, a rookie Oakland police officer. He was helping other officers search a vehicle for drugs when a resident in a house shot him in the back with an assault rifle. He died two hours later.

Our son’s killer spent under two years awaiting trial and then was found not guilty of anything. Is this justice? We continually hear of the bad apples in police departments but never about the men and women who each day kiss their spouses and kids goodbye, never knowing if they will ever see them again. We miss our son and think of him every day. He was a young man who thought he could make a difference but lived only five months after his graduation from the police academy. Oakland has many problems, and the residents must accept responsibility for their share of them.

Mary Konopasek

Rancho Palos Verdes