Police log vs big police hiring: Something amiss here

To the editor:

In the lead story of the September 21 edition, "Council okays hire of five new officers," the police chief justifies the expenditure because of "increases in police activity in many areas." Then the police blotter reports police activity for the previous week:

Besides a DUI and taking a passed out man to the hospital, the remainder of the list was:

A "possible bear sighting"

Goats "making a lot of noise"

A dog "barking non-stop"

An "injured bird"

"Issues with a neighbor's chickens"

An "injured baby fox."

Of course, this may be an unusually animal-centric week for law enforcement, but it certainly does not suggest that the town needs a 20 percent increase in staffing.

David Logan

Tiverton