Letters to the Editor: Shame on City Council members who want to go easy on catalytic converter thieves

To the editor: Thanks to Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee for his ordinance giving police new tools to arrest catalytic converter thieves. This is a crime against hardworking people who need their cars for transportation.

Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who voted against the ordinance, said that “punishing people doesn’t help anybody.” How about this: If you don’t want to be punished for stealing, don’t steal.

He also said the ordinance will cause more Black and Latino residents to be pulled over and questioned. Where is the logic in that statement? The crews that steal catalytic converters are made up of young, able-bodied men who strike in the middle of the night and are gone in less than 60 seconds. These are not poor, disabled citizens motoring along city streets.

Harris-Dawson also said, “When somebody gets something stolen, the city should be doing everything we can to make sure they’re made whole.” OK, how will this wholeness plan be implemented? I haven’t heard any proposals.

The city leaders who voted against this need a better grip on reality. Or maybe they just need to have their own catalytic converters stolen.

Tracey Hasslein, Northridge

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To the editor: Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez voted against giving law enforcement greater power to arrest catalytic converter thieves. She is concerned it will start putting people of color through the revolving door of justice.

Whoever has had a converter stolen followed by weeks of waiting to get back on the road for work or kids does not want that door to revolve. We want it shut on people who commit a crime that requires planning, tools and selling to a criminal profiteer.

It should be the responsibility of every civil servant to push back against the nuisances to society, not encourage them with this sociobabble.

Paul Ehrmann, Santa Monica