It seems that the last two weeks have been "Beat up on the Chief" week.

Police Chief Mike Lewis writes a positive letter reporting that fireworks complaints and enforcement actions were down compared to last year. He then goes on to thank the citizens for their efforts to comply with the law.

Here's what he gets in response: Demands that police come up with a plan to "stop this flagrant violation of the law." Accusations that the police don't care, are lazy, do nothing in order to keep the crime stats down and that there has been no enforcement of fireworks.

The crime stats used for the safest city designation do not include fireworks violations. Most of the department lives in the city with their families, and they do care.

No enforcement? Did the letter writer read the letter from the chief?

Assuming that the motor officer went the opposite direction from a violator because he couldn't be bothered is unfair. Maybe he got a call on his headset to something with a higher priority.

To those demanding a plan from the police, here's what the chief has to work with while staying within budget: 125 officers covering a populace of 126,000 over a 42-square-mile area.

Working three shifts gives you about 42 officers on duty at any given time. Assigning one officer per square mile—leaving no one at the station or available for other calls—with an average of 3,000 people living in that square mile, I'd say the odds are still in favor of the violators.

How about this for a plan: Citizens obey the fireworks laws. Citizens lobby state leaders to outlaw fireworks statewide. Citizens take responsibility for their actions and be held accountable for damage they cause by their misdeeds.

Finally, in response to last week's editorial about Mayor Miller running unopposed:

Councilmember Michelle Foster ran unopposed when her term was up. I suppose for the same reason Mayor Miller is unopposed— if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The Acorn opines that incumbents should "defend their positions and answer for all the decisions they've made while in office."

I believe they are available every Monday at 6:30 p.m. to do just that. Just fill out a card beforehand and any citizen may address any council member, including Mayor Miller. Mark Medina Simi Valley