Letters to the Editor: Just how many extremists are in our police departments?

To the editor: Law enforcement leaders say they vet for white supremacists and their ilk, but either they are spectacularly bad at it or not really trying if members of the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and other extremist groups wear the badge. (“Law enforcement confronts an old threat: far-right extremism in the ranks. ‘Swift action must be taken,’” Feb. 17)

It also makes one wonder how bad those who did not make the cut were. If one bad apple spoils the barrel, it’s beyond time to dump the whole barrel and start over.

M.C. Allen, West Covina

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To the editor: People, we are in more trouble than we thought.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore is quoted as saying: “America is struggling today with understanding whether the Proud Boys, some aspects of [Black Lives Matter and] other groups ... represent ideology that’s counter to this democracy.”

Black Lives Matter was co-founded in Los Angeles to draw attention to the fact that Black people are more often the victims of police violence than white people. The Proud Boys are a far-right, white nationalist group that occassionally associates with neo-Nazis and wages mob violence against its opponents.

We cannot stop police abuse if the LAPD chief equates those who commit violence with those who are the victims of it.

At first, I was just angry. Now, I am terrified for the people of Los Angeles.

Marsha Temple, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I am appalled and disappointed that Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said he found there was “no evidence” that his deputy spotted with Oath Keepers and Gasden flag patches on his vest held extremist or racist views.

Isn’t the fact that he had those patches on his vest evidence of his holding such views? Or do Barnes and his deputy think the uniform is nothing more than a Halloween costume?

Lia Eng, Aliso Viejo