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I am writing to congratulate The Times on the recent deep dive titled “The Gun and the Bag” into the Adam English incident.
It is evident that Nick Watson and the staff of The Times have devoted a great deal of time and research to the series. After seeing the series title, I expected the media to report such similar incidents portraying the deceased as a good but troubled soul and portraying law enforcement as being too heavy-handed in the incident. Even though the show started out following that exact timeline, it was refreshing that The Times didn’t go straight to the end of the story.
Despite the pages and pages written about this unfortunate incident, ultimate responsibility for the outcome rests with Mr. English. Despite the reason (drugs, mental health issues, etc.) the point is that Mr. English was running in a very public place shooting a gun and acting erratically.
Several appeals to the police have been made by the general public for emergency assistance. Our local GPD agents came as fast as they could to the rescue. Mr. English was quickly surrounded, but did not obey orders to stop and show his hands even though all reports indicated he was armed with at least one firearm. If he had complied with the officers’ orders to show his hands, the incident would end much differently.
I am grateful to live in a community where we have such exemplary law enforcement as our Gainesville Police Department and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office. Our brave men and women in uniform are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to keep our community safe.
Rather than heeding ridiculous calls for police funding, we actually need to increase funding for our law enforcement agencies in order to provide for higher salaries, additional training opportunities, and the latest specialized equipment to help them do so. their work.
It has been said that freedom is not free. This is certainly true, and neither is public safety. If we want the best of the best to wear the badge, be on patrol and actively engage the criminal elements to keep us safe, we must be prepared to pay for it. Support your local law enforcement.
Scotty ball
Gainesville
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