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Sarasota News Leader January 25, 2013 OPINION Page 73 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THE JAN. 18 EDITORIAL WAS NOT FAIR TO THE POLICE To the Editor: And one more thing: Susan Christy (the realtor) is a dear old friend of mine, and the While an overwrought tone in a letter to the thought of her lying facedown on a concrete editor might be easily understood, an opinion floor does not please me. piece ought to at least have the appearance of balance, especially when written by a pro- I am sorry for her ordeal, but knowing Susan, fessional editorial staff. Phrases such as "out she will find a way to laugh about this incident of control," "jack booted" and "pistol to the later. That officer cannot afford to laugh about head," as well as sexist references to "Cag- or apologize for doing her job, and I suggest ney and Lacey," do not contribute to any sort you at The Sarasota News Leader need to of reasonable dialogue. (The Jan. 18 editorial make a finer point of being "fair and balanced" regarded an incident on Dec. 31 in which a in your editorials. realtor and her client were confronted by a police officer.) Diana Hamilton Sarasota By your own account a call was placed, probably by a neighbor concerned about a possiLETTERS TO THE EDITOR ble burglary. The officer spoke clearly and followed procedure. The Sarasota News LeadHer gun hand was steady as she called for backup, and once the backup process starts, it must be resolved "by the book." Did you bother to ask what exactly "inspecting the property" might have entailed? Were they looking in windows? Wandering around the backyard? Was the home empty or occupied? Had there been burglaries in the area? The realtor's car, which might have carried her logo, was not on the street. Something in their behavior caused a call to be made. The officer responded. It's that simple. er welcomes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone number of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Letters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other factors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader.