Eduardo Ortega: Police should investigate every crime, not pick and choose
Re “Server gets a bogus gratuity” (Page B1, April 6): I read the article about the waitress at Red Lobster getting tipped with a fake bill. When she reported it to the Modesto police they acted as if it was nothing.
The Bee quoted police spokeswoman Heather Graves, saying it was a misdemeanor and patrol officers handle those reports. Unless they have enough evidence and probable cause to arrest someone at the time of the report, the case is suspended. Did Modesto PD ask if there was video at Red Lobster to ID the suspects? How about using the credit card to ID the suspects? Were photos of the suspects posted on crime stoppers? Somebody needs to go back to the police academy and learn to investigate crimes.
It appeared Modesto PD was just interested in investigating felonies. Citizens pay taxes so the police will investigate every crime reported to them until all investigative leads are exhausted. We don’t pay them to put a price tag on what crime they are going to investigate. If that’s true, then let’s get rid every motor officer because they are wasting time writing tickets on traffic infractions. Put them behind a desk to investigate real crimes.
Eduardo Ortega, Salida
This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Eduardo Ortega: Police should investigate every crime, not pick and choose."