Support for Chief Parks

Re “Parks Support Backs Blacks Into a Corner,” Opinion, Feb. 17: Kudos to Ed Boyer for his completely cogent, thoroughly readable article. The resounding hue and cry arising from among certain black leaders in support of LAPD Chief Bernard Parks is illogical and, ultimately, ill-advised. While ensuring that Rep. Maxine Waters, Councilman Nate Holden and Danny Bakewell, et al., retain their power base, the rhetoric they now bandy about is little more than an exercise in pandering to the worst fears of the black community. Most important, as Boyer noted so eloquently, the inexplicable embrace of Parks will only result in an additional minimalization and marginalization of this shrinking segment of the electorate.

Brian Patrick Clarke

Burbank