Letters and comments for September 7, 2011

Fueling emotions

To the Editor:

The shooting death of Richard Shafer is an undeniable tragedy for the Shafer family, Officer Kilpatrick and the Elgin community.

The days following this event called for a time of calm amid the storms of emotions that such an event invariably creates — a time to gather facts rather than exploit feelings.

The Observer would have better served this community had it waited to report this tragedy objectively, rather than quoting individuals, whose statements, in light of the Union County Grand Jury’s findings absolving Officer Kilpatrick, are at best inaccurate and at worst, defamatory.

Eric Valentine

La Grande

Letters From Readers

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