Sen. Padilla’s treatment went too far

On Thursday, U.S. security agents grounded, handcuffed and detained U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, who had identified himself and tried to ask a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during her press conference . Noem and the agents who assaulted the senator should be arrested and held in contempt of Congress until trial. Who will make the arrests? Do we have enough functioning government remaining to have someone with jurisdiction to make the arrests?

We must have a functioning democratic government, and Thursday we learned that the administrative branch believes it can take elected members of the legislative branch by force. We must have elected officials who respect the Constitution, the rule of law, due process and the American people.

Journalists have right to investigate

In Scott Maxwell’s column (“DeSantis orders Orlando Sentinel to stop investigating his scandal. That’s not happening,” June 11) relating the tale of our governor’s attempt to shut down Jeff Schweers’ investigation into what increasingly would appear to be unlawful activity on the part of the governor and the Hope Florida Foundation, Scott asks the important question: “What did Jeff do?”

His job, my friends, his job. And apparently, he is doing it very well, indeed. Moreover, the same is true of Scott Maxwell.

Let’s hope Florida makes a different decision at the ballot box next election and puts someone in the governor’s chair who understands how the Constitution of the United States of America actually works in practice.

Broward sheriff showed leadership

I applaud Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony for showing integrity and leadership and not letting the Florida attorney general bully him with intimidation tactics (“State warns South Florida sheriff to help ICE enforce immigration laws,” June 9) .

This sheriff is putting his community first and refusing to take part in the cruel political posturing requested by Attorney General James Uthmeier. Thank you, Sheriff Tony, for demonstrating that integrity and leadership still exist in the state of Florida.

Crisis-intervention officers vital to quell violence

I am responding to “Sheriff: Deputy kills attacker who had knife” (June 9) about a mentally ill man who was acting violently towards the police before an officer shot him.

Anyone can encounter a mentally ill person whose behavior may be alarming. The general public should know that when calling for help in a situation involving a mentally ill person, it’s best to ask that the police dispatch an officer trained in crisis intervention. Such training is often provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Most local counties require such training for their law-enforcement personnel, but not all do.

People should also realize that, according to the American Psychological Association, violent acts are relatively uncommon among people with serious mental illnesses. Often when people with mental illnesses do perpetrate violence, they are also affected by other problems such as substance use, adverse childhood experiences, and other issues including unemployment and poverty that are all risk factors for violent behavior.

UF will recover from presidential snub

I disagree strongly with a June 11 letter headlined “UF’s reputation is ruined.” We can ( and many should) disagree with the process by which Santa Ono was bypassed as the next UF president. But not only is UF the top university in the state, it is often listed as one of the top public universities in the nation. My son is working on his PhD in Strategic Management at UF — its management faculty was recently rated no. 1 in the country in terms of research output per faculty member.

It’s difficult to gain admission to UF — ask your friends whose children have applied. The standards increase every year and the school’s reputation will not be sullied by the Ono decision. He will be replaced with another fine candidate next year — maybe even better — so let’s not prejudge.

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