6 9.13.20 Illustrations by Giacomo Gambineri
Photograph by D’Angelo Lovell Williams for The New York TimesThe Thread
Readers respond to the 8.30.2020 issue.
RE: BLACK VISIONS
Jenna Wortham wrote about a collective of
Black organizers in Minneapolis.
Thank you so much for this incredibly
poetic, fact-fi lled and human-focused
window into the work of Black Visions
after the killing of George Floyd. I urge
everyone criticizing eff orts to defund
the police to read this article, word by
word, to understand the power of that
movement and the intention behind it.
The last two paragraphs will break open
your heart and mind to the power of
what people can do, even when expe-
riencing the most painful kind of grief
and anger. Thank you, Jenna Wortham,
for this window.
Helen, New York
RE: CRIME FICTION
Michael Winerip wrote about Operation Net
Nanny, an online sting operation to catch
child predators that snared hundreds of men.
We write to strongly object to the prem-
ise (and title) of Michael Winerip’s article
‘‘Crime Fiction.’’ We have decades of expe-
rience in law enforcement and have also
worked with the victims of child sexual
abuse — as such, we know that the suff er-
ing of such victims is very real and in no
way ‘‘fi ction.’’ Further, an attempted crime
is indeed a crime, and someone willing to
meet a 13-year-old for sex will most likely
do so again, perhaps the next time with a
real child. It is a frightening and unaccept-
able proposition that we should wait until
an actual 13-year-old is victimized before
law enforcement can become involved.
Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters, New York
user in 100 would have any knowledge of
an ‘‘epidemic’’ of illicit sex acts commit-
ted in public bathrooms, and the excep-
tion would be somebody who was actually
looking for it. Keep in mind that much
of the activity was fomented by ‘‘bait’’
— attractive undercover male cops who
displayed themselves to potential ‘‘perps’’
in lewd, lascivious fashions.
Police offi cers and prosecutors: Do
your jobs. Protect us against violent
criminals, real rapists and white-collar
crooks who destroy hard-earned fortunes.
I, for one, am not interested in pot busts,
restroom stings and phony, victimless sex
entrapment done by undercover offi cers.
Tom, Baltimore‘‘Mathematically, it only costs $2,500 per
arrest during this operation! Considering
the high level of potential off ense, there
is a meager investment that pays huge
dividends.’’ These are the words of offi -
cial terrorism, not police work. This is
identical to the entrapment that police
used on gay people ‘‘back in the day’’ and
probably still do. Easy arrests that result
in quick and cheap convictions. This has
nothing to do with the honor of being a
police offi cer. This is about using human
beings for the purpose of meeting arrest
quotas, or enjoying the pleasure of caus-
ing suff ering, or both.
George Seely, BostonCORRECTION:
An article on Aug. 23 about the migrant route
to the United States through the Sonoran
Desert referred incorrectly to a road in the
Tohono O’odham Nation. It is Federal Route
15, not State Route 15.Send your thoughts to [email protected].‘This is
identical to the
entrapment
that the police
used on gay
people ‘‘back
in the day’’
and probably
still do.’THE STORY,
ON TWITTER
‘‘Black Lives Matter
is an old prayer
spoken in new
tongues, articulated
in a hashtag’’
— Mary Hooks
@terrymtzI have always believed that the use of
stings in sex crimes is justifi ed. But the
sting must be designed to catch crimi-
nals, not to net socially inept adults. In the
Hambrick case, the sting seemed to do the
latter. A real question arises here: Given
the facts portrayed by Winerip, how did
this case not appear before a grand jury?
How did the offi cers involved justify to
themselves what they were doing?
The female offi cer who met Hambrick
at the door never interviewed him to see
if he came with the intention of meeting
a 13-year-old or even asked if he thought
she looked 13 to him. Exactly what facts
other than arranging to meet someone
who inconsistently typed ‘‘13’’ in the
ad was the basis of this case? From all
appearances, we have here a miscarriage
of justice, a case that requires a thorough
investigation of the police involved in
the Hambrick arrest and their training,
and possible legal action against the
prosecutor and the judge.
I spent 35 years in criminal justice in
various capacities and served on two
grand juries, once as a foreman, and to
me, this is an amazing breakdown of the
system of justice in this country.
Robert Leslie Fisher, Delmar, N.Y.This is just an outrageous abuse of
law-enforcement and prosecutorial priv-
ileges. The punishments are hypocritical
and disproportionate, while real, violent
sex off enders are let off the hook every
day. I am aware that entrapment is not
often a successful legal defense, but, boy,
does this ever seem like ‘‘cop-manufac-
tured crime.’’
This business reminds me of some-
thing. As a gay man, I was well aware of the
notorious ‘‘rest area’’ stings of the 1980s
and ’90s. I doubt one public- restroom