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12 | JUNE 25 • 2020 

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been taken “for a family member 
of the mayor.
” He also told me 
that my dad could have been “at 
McDonald’
s or in a hotel” and 
“that he didn’
t warrant depart-
mental resources.
” 
As you can imagine, this was 
shocking and devastating to 
me. My dad, in fact, was not at 
“McDonald’
s” or “in a hotel.
” He 
was found dead in his car the 
day after he went missing, not 
by the police, but by a person 
that lived on the block where my 
dad’
s car was parked.
It came to my attention via 
friends that Shelide had made 
some abhorrent posts on social 
media. These posts invoked 
violence against people of color. 
At best, they are unequivocally 
racist in nature. At worst, they 
are criminal and should not be 
acceptable coming from any 
human being, let alone a law 
enforcement officer.
My concern is that if your 
chief of police could speak to a 
grieving daughter that way, what 
else is he capable of? And how 
many police departments in this 
state will pass him around, hop-
ing he will magically change? If 
change is going to come, it has to 
start with the people who have 
power. And you do. So, the ques-
tion is, how will you use your 
power?
Would you be OK if the next 
George Floyd occurred in your 
city? Forget about Neal Rott, of 
blessed memory. Think of all 
those who don’
t have the priv-
ilege I have to even be able to 
write this letter.
Black lives have always mat-
tered but, apparently, they matter 
more to some than to others, 
and others should not include 
law enforcement officers.

Leslie Rott Welsbacher

University of Michigan 

Editor’
s Note: You can read 
about the social media posts in 

“
Actions Matter,
” page 34 in the 
June 18 issue of the JN. On June 
16, Shelby Township Trustees 
suspended Chief Robert Shelide 
for 30 days and ordered him 
to undergo cultural awareness 
and de-escalation training.

Choosing Life
Following the funeral of my late 
husband, Dr. Sheldon Kapen, 
and listening to the most beau-
tiful eulogy of our eldest son, 
Gilead, a close friend quipped 
that for such a funeral and eulo-
gy it was wor 
th dying. Needless 
to say, he wasn’
t serious.
However, these very words 
can also be said regarding the 
most elaborate funeral and eulo-
gies said on behalf of Mr. George 
Floyd, the African American 
who was callously killed by a cop 
who kneeled on his neck, not 
listening to the man’
s plea that he 
couldn’
t breathe. 
Yet, I’
ll bet that Floyd would 
not forfeit his precious life for 
the most elaborated funeral and 
the nicest of words said about 
him.
Our holy Torah tells us — 
practically orders us — to choose 
life when faced by the choices of 
life and death; thou shall choose 
life — u’
vacharta ba’
chayim.
May we all vow to do all that 
in our power to make this choice 
available to us all when at all 
possible, and make sure that 
Black Life Matters is more than 
a slogan, but a guiding light to 
us all.

Rachel Kapen

West Bloomfield

continued from page 10

Neal Rott

BC

