Will someone in West Point please explain to me how a Citizens Review Board is even remotely legal??? If one reads Graham vs. Conner, the foremost case law on Police Use of Force in the U.S., it states that the force used by a police officer must be "reasonable" and that not only must it be "reasonable" but that it must be "reasonable to a police officer". Police Officers are professionals and no how to be the police better than Joe the Plumber. There is not a Citizens Medical Review Board or a Citizens Politician Review Board (although there probably should be). You do not set up boards to question whether your doctor is practicing medicine in a proper manner or whether other educated persons complete their jobs in a proper manner. I am not insinuating that police should have unchecked powers but there are already courts in place to ensure that police do not over step their bounds. Therefore, a Citizens Review Board, who are not police officers, have no legal basis or bearing on whether or not any use of force by the West Point Police Department is legitimate and serves only as a political tool to illegitimately judge an officers use of power. What this will mean is that an officer, who in West Point are paid very little, could potentially face disciplinary action because a review board does not like how a situation was handled when they do not have the right or professional background to even make such an assessment. As professionals law enforcement officers swear not to stand for injustice, and that includes within their own ranks. Traditionally, this has not been the case but in modern law enforcement it is rare to find such blind loyalty to stand for atrocity. The police can investigate and handle matters themselves much better than any review board ever will. It is my hope that any and all law enforcement professionals or potential law enforcement professionals will boycott employment by the City of West Point. When the City of West Point can find no one to work for them we will see where they are then. Chief Cato, I have always held the highest respect for you, but you have failed your department by allowing the political powers that be to institute such a measure. Council caved to a minority within your jurisdiction that would rather be able to sell dope and commit criminal acts without law enforcement intervention and you allowed it. You and council have now set a precedent that states "fear of the police" is a legitimate excuse for violating the law and have handed the criminal element an additional shroud to hide behind. That sounds like weak leadership to me from top to bottom. Community Oriented Policing strategies would have fixed the vast majority of issues that you are facing. That being said, you obviously have not learned that you are not in Dekalb County any more. The City of West Point would have been better served to hire a locally educated and qualified person to handle the reigns in West Point because they would have understood the community dynamics that you are dealing with. You have set a dangerous precedent in this community that will have ramifications for generations to come. Citizens, your community will not be safer because of this measure, you will suffer at the hands of criminals who will exploit the police department and its officers through political fear.