Dear Editor,
It was sad and a bit surprising to read the letter about community leaders in Queens, New York, being seen as letting a sorrowing Guyanese family down after a member of the family had been shot and killed by police and the family had not so far received “a satisfactory explanation for the shooting”. Even although the chap, presumably expecting the police, unwisely approached the door with a knife in his hand, an explanation of the action taken by police seems to be basic courtesy and good for public relations.
The most puzzling sentence, to me, was “I posed these questions to the police captain on the phone and he refused to answer them. Instead, he referred me to the Police Commissioner’s office and its PR office. The matter died there…”
Why was not the chain of command yanked upwards? In the public service worldwide every boss has a boss, and I have always found that people on the lower rungs of the ladder tend to brush the ordinary citizen aside, hoping to get away with it. As a taxpayer, one is entitled to be heard, especially when one feels that an injustice has been done and some form of investigation – perhaps compensation – is due. In the American system there are several people who may be contacted – the Mayor, the Borough President, the Governor, the Congressman (I believe the borough of Queens has 4 Congressmen), the Senator. One can always write to the President himself.
I personally find that a letter is always better than a phone call, and writing a letter and copying it to as many relevant people in the hierarchy as possible is not a bad idea. But let everyone know to whom the letter is being copied. It works for me every time. But then the British scene is, I think, a bit different from the American. These days contact is possible by e-mail – much easier.
Let us hope some interested and capable person would put pen to paper, to get answers, and the outcome is satisfactory to the widow – at least. Go on – try it. (Remember the people at the top are not always aware of the capers of their juniors.)
Yours faithfully,
Geralda Dennison
