This kid may have been a pot dealer, he may have died with Xanax in his system, he may have maintained a strangely shaped beard and sported colors of hair not found in nature, he may have ridden a motorcycle and led a ratty, ungroomed, lock-dyed Afghan around on a leash, and he may have led a life considered unworthy of sympathy or note by more conservative elements of our society, but he was a man with a heart, a man with a blessed soul of compassion, and a man who made the difficult personal choices we all make in our lives to pull himself up by his self-sewn bootstraps and try to make something good of his life. As I finished reading David Holthouse's words and brushed away the tears from my face, I understood the truth of my emotion. Twenty-five years ago, this young man could have been me.
I want to thank you for publishing his story. Eric has been shamefully relegated to that pathetic category of men "whose lives don't matter." Had he been rich, politically connected and living in Cherry Hills, you can damned well bet that Earl Taylor and his "crew" would have been arrested, tried and convicted by now. At this point, I don't know what can be done, but I thank you for researching and writing this piece. I hope city officials at least have been embarrassed enough to try to make some amends for the shoddy way this young man was treated...if not in life, then at least in death.
Rich Dockter
Denver
A Crash Course
Drive, he said: Regarding David Holthouse's "Bad Boys," in the January 17 issue:
Unfortunately, the guy involved in this incident seems like a hothead, which doesn't work in his favor, but I have to say that I am infuriated almost daily by rude and aggressive or absentminded and distracted driving on the part of the Denver Police Department, in fully marked cars. It's a miracle if they ever signal a lane change; they flick on their lights just to get through intersections; and they drive aggressively, cutting people off and causing near-miss accidents. If they are not driving insanely, they are weaving around on the road, not staying in lanes, and driving in a fashion for which an ordinary citizen would be pulled over under suspicion of drunk driving.
While I doubt there is a vast right-wing conspiracy on the part of the DPD, I do believe that, on the whole, they have very poor driving habits and a cavalier, above-the-law attitude when it comes to how they treat other motorists.
Michael Ditto
Denver
Citizen raising Cain: David Holthouse wrote a mostly fair and accurate story regarding my experience with Captain J. Padilla, with the exception of two points. 1) I never said, "Mullah Padilla went Taliban on my ass." What I did say was, "Mullah Padilla went Taliban on me." 2) Magistrate Paul Quinn admonished me for allegedlymaking obscene gestures to Mullah Padilla. Yes, the Padilla did make this groundless accusation at the start of the trial, but nobody in the relatively full courtroom could verify that I made any alleged obscene gestures at the Padilla! What is true is that the Padilla did wink and smile at me while the magistrate reprimanded me based on the Padilla's false allegation that I made an obscene gesture at him.
Steven Dwyer, patriot and citizen
Denver
Editor's note: David Holthouse stands by the "my ass" quote. And for the record, Magistrate Quinn did not use the word "allegedly" when he admonished alleged citizen and hothead Dwyer.
