LTE: Rumble in Waco

Interesting.  This is the letter that was published.  Below that is the letter I wrote.  The Editors inserted the word "alleged" three times.  Why?  On a humorous note, I misspelled the word "situation", and they left it in.


Rumble in Waco

Regarding "Waco melee probe falters" (Page A1, Sunday), what is amazing three years later is how little the Waco and state police have revealed about the role they played in the slaughter that left nine bikers dead and 18 injured.

To this day, we don't know how many of the casualties were caused by the police, but that is not the least of the alleged misconduct. The police were there in force and armed to the teeth, yet rather than insert themselves between the gangs and control the situtation, they stayed on the perimeter, allowing the melee to begin. Once it started, they alledgedly shot bikers until the bikers were subdued.

The real story here is the alleged misconduct of law enforcement officials, not unlike those of the Clinton administration in their military siege of the Branch Davidians a quarter century ago, ironically, also in Waco. Hopefully we have learned from that tragedy, and won't allow this one to be similarly swept under the rug.

Pete Smith, Cypress


The letter I wrote:

Regarding "Waco melee probe falters" (Sunday Front Page), based on the stories in the Chronicle three years ago, what is amazing three years later is how little the Waco and state police have revealed as to the role they played in the slaughter that left nine bikers dead and 18 injured.

To this day, we don't know how many of the casualties were caused by the police, but that is not the least of the misconduct.  The police were there in force and armed to the teeth, yet rather than insert themselves between the gangs and control the situtation, they stayed on the perimeter, allowing the melee to begin.  Once it started, they shot bikers until the bikers were subdued.

The real story here is the misconduct of law enforcement officials, not unlike those of the Clinton administration in their military siege of the Branch Davidians a quarter century ago, ironically, also in Waco.  Hopefully we have learned from that tragedy, and won't allow this one to be similarly swept under the rug.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX