Readers Write: Minneapolis City Council, government spending, remote work, CEO’s killing, Jordan Neely

Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch were best friends in the Senate, despite their ideological differences, for the simple reason that they spent time together. Would that have been the case if they only saw each other on a computer screen?

I, and I trust all of us, are grateful that the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been taken into custody, and that the diligent and extensive police work that led to his arrest was successful (”Manhunt ends with arrest,” Dec. 10). However, I can’t help but think that the police effort would be orders of magnitude smaller if an unemployed, perhaps nonwhite 19-year-old were shot from behind in a poor neighborhood. Only when the police effort in both instances becomes similar can we truly be a country where citizens and their families receive equal treatment under our laws. Otherwise, we will remain a country where the wealthy and privileged receive special treatment from our government.

The following is a Dec. 9 PBS News Hour narrative of this regrettable story, followed by an account of a similar, but not as tragic, experience of mine about a decade ago:

“Jordan Neely was a homeless man who struggled with mental illness. On the day he died, he entered a crowded subway car, yelling that he was hungry, thirsty, and ready to die or go to jail. That’s when another passenger, Daniel Penny, took him to the ground in a choke hold that lasted for almost six minutes. When Penny let go, Neely was unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.”