Letters for July 13, 2017

My son is innocent

Re “When the cops don’t kill you,” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Feature, June 29):

I commend Raheem Hosseini for his investigative reporting. The conclusions to be drawn from this article are: Paul Cantarutti is innocent. Paul was not committing a crime. Paul was a victim of bad police work. And now, because the police officer who shot Paul will not step forward and admit that he made a mistake, this criminal case against Paul becomes the result.

Michael Cantarutti

Santa Rosa

Knives can kill cops

Re “When the cops don’t kill you,” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Feature, June 29):

Mr. Cantarutti was “six to eight feet away?” A lunging lunatic can cover that ground in a second or two. Perhaps the most entertaining line of the whole screed was the quote: “They (most jurors) didn’t take any evidence into account, basically. He had a knife and that was it.” In the real world, brandishing a knife is evidence.

Bill Zaumen

Sacramento

Cops deserve to live

Re “When the cops don’t kill you,” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Feature, June 29):

Raheem has convinced me on this case. I agree—police should be forced to administer a multiquestion test to determine if the knife wielding man making threatening gestures rapidly approaching from eight feet away has schizophrenia. I am sure by the time they are stabbed six-seven times, they can gain the certainty required to finally fight back without fear of legal jeopardy. At the end of the day, [officers’] priority above “Protect and Serve” is to make it home safely to their families.

Bill Bixby

Sacramento

Radical reads

Re “Reading the resistance,” by Rachel Leibrock (A&C feature, July 6):

Much has changed in the progressive left since Rules For Radicals came out 45 years ago. Instead of or in addition to Rules, I recommend Hegemony How-To, A Roadmap for Radicals, by Jonathan Matthew Smucker (AK Press, $16.95). It is much more relevant to current conditions.

Jan Bergeron

Sacramento

Picture Pres. Hatch?

Re “Raising Ryan,” by Mark Perkel (Letters, July 6):

I believe Mark Perkel is mistaken in saying that House Speaker Paul Ryan is next in line for the presidency after Vice President Pence. I believe the next in line is the president pro tem of the Senate, Orrin Hatch of Utah—who would be the nation’s first Mormon president.

Gordon Cummings

Rocklin