Priest Handcuffed

* If you don’t believe there’s racism in L.A., ask the Rev. Ronald D. Culmer. Ask any black or Hispanic man in Los Angeles who drives an expensive car downtown--he knows how Culmer feels. The sad truth is, the first thing the police think when they see black or brown skin is “suspect.” It covers our faces even when dressed in priestly robes with a green stole.

The message Police Chief Bernard Parks sends (Feb. 11) isn’t an apology (although if he were any smarter he’d realize a zealous apology would have been the best move), it’s a warning: If you think you can escape racism by doing all the right things, staying in school, staying off drugs, becoming a priest, you have another thing coming. The apology the police offered was “we did nothing wrong.” Parks is more concerned that he has the support of his white officers than the support of the black or Hispanic community.

ARMANDO GARCIA

Long Beach

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* How can you be sure whether he is really a priest or a criminal wearing a disguise? After all, if you see a man wearing a ski mask walk into a bank, it’s a pretty sure bet he isn’t looking for the ski lift.

V. FRED RAYSER

Yucca Valley

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* Since when is it “standard procedure” to humiliate a citizen to the ground in handcuffs against the instant, explicit and adamant identification by credible bystanders of the person in question?

I wonder if, while exiting church in another city, the proud Chief Parks found himself ordered to his knees and handcuffed while wearing his impressive police uniform, he would be quite so understanding of this sloppy maneuver. After all, suspects impersonate police officers as well as priests, don’t they?

TYLER ST. MARK

Beverly Hills

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* So the LAPD now sees priests in full vestments as fitting the profile of [suspects fleeing a] fast-food restaurant. As a bent-over old man with a cane, I’m worried that I’ll be arrested for fitting the profile of a purse-snatcher.

HERBERT AARONS

Palm Springs