Make no mistake: It is a war out there

To the editor:

In his Friday letter to the editor, officer Norman Jahn opines that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's academy staff are wrong to teach recruits that they are in a war.

I know and have great respect for Mr. Jahn. It is my opinion that no finer man ever has or ever will pin on a badge for any police department anywhere.

With all due respect, though, I beg to differ with him on this issue.

It is my opinion that recruits are taught that they are in a war because they are. However, they are also taught that this war must be fought within the parameters set forth in law, which include the Nevada statutes, the U.S. Constitution and Nevada's constitution.

They are also taught that they are not at war with the large majority of citizens. They are, in fact, at war in concert with the honest, hard-working citizenry against an increasingly vicious criminal element that has, in many cases, no respect for the personal property or lives of others. And many of these types enjoy nothing more than killing law enforcement officers.

An officer who doesn't understand that fact is a dead officer, sooner or later.

I would also like to commend the Review-Journal for publishing the series of articles on the Metro police academy ("Cop 101"), illustrating the fact that the price, in terms of commitment and personal sacrifice, of a Metro badge is very high.

Steve Steckel

Las Vegas

The writer is a retired police officer.