Good morning. Welcome to this meeting of the minds. Last week ended with more local news than an average person should endure, especially with that U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey report on the state of the city’s police department and the City of Trenton. A conversation with City Council President Crystal Feliciano confessed my news hangover. Combined with remnants of a stubborn cold, life has presented challenges. First, old business. Apparently, some readers misinterpreted this paragraph from Sunday’s column. “With virtually no way off of an edgy cliffhanger tête á tête, Bobbitt fielded this assessment of his two-time incumbent boss — Reed is just a white dude from Princeton.” Think of this idea about Gusciora as a baseball hit by me. So, essentially, Bobbitt caught or heard my assessment regarding the mayor being a Caucasian man from Princeton. Let’s move on. As usual, Trenton residents need only a scintilla of BS to make a mountain of it and to take our minds off real issues. Mayor Gusciora Thursday visited Police Headquarters a day after the U.S. Department of Justice delivered a scathing report regarding behaviors executed by city law enforcement officers and the City of Trenton. Gusciora attended a mandatory roll call for on-duty officers at 3 p.m. and while discrepancies exist about the nature of his attendance and conversations presented, the mayor’s appearance delivered puzzlement. At a time when the report showed that residents exist as punished pawns in the pattern or practice of unlawful stops, searches, and escalation of abuse, Mayor Gusciora had a responsibility to first address the public before he made peace with police. In most situations of such dire and troublesome circumstances, leaders hold press conferences immediately to assure citizens that they plan to enact safeguards to right terrible wrongs; leaders stand in the light of day and field difficult inquiries; leaders express disappointment that situations had reached such disturbing levels even though residents did not need a federal investigation to prove our well-known experiences. Instead, Mr. Gusciora visited the house of the perpetrators. Mind you, many good police exist in the Trenton Police Department although they have remained silent as a few brethren besmirched both badge and code. Remember the time and money theft scandal earlier this year by seven police officers, including three captains and one lieutenant. First, the Administration and police department remained closed-mouthed about the incident until this paper exposed the dirty deeds. Instead of confessing these officers charged with teaching subordinates good behaviors had broken the law, instead of them facing criminal charges for theft by deception, four walked and three others remain on staff. Mayor Gusciora and Police Director Steven Wilson fail to understand that this incident poisoned public opinion about police and politicians, including some seated members of City Council. Even now, with the Department of Justice findings in the wind of public opinion, most government people dismiss the watchdog adage — if you see something, say something. Unfortunately, saying nothing or doing the same, makes those officers and others complicit in every wrongdoing. Kudos to city police officers who have tendered resignations after realizing their personal intestinal fortitude could no longer allow them to suit up and boot up in Trenton. It’s unfortunate New York City anti-corruption Frank Serpico (now 88) is more myth than real-life do-gooder law enforcement champion. This capital city, despite all the glam crime statistics, lists as a dangerous place for law enforcement officers and residents. We get that and while defunding the police became a popular initiative, it’s time to redefine police officers. We have an opportunity to reconstruct city law enforcement. Of course, residents deserve a seat at the table regarding how the city moves forward on this issue. Many people have responded about the DOJ report. Please, take a moment to read their comments over the next several days and if time allows during the Thanksgiving holiday, examine the findings. Ms. Feliciano responded to The Trentonian invitation and we welcome all opinions. L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].