Foster respect for law enforcement

We’ve been asking readers how they would improve relations between police and the communities they serve. Share your thoughts with us using #policingtheusa on Twitter or call 540-739-2928 to leave a message. You can also send letters to letters@usatoday.com.

Letter to the editor:
I recently retired from policing in Flint, Mich., after 30 years. I never had a problem with getting and giving respect from citizens. The reason being I grew up in that community. The days of hiring from within the community are gone.

Randolph Tolbert; Grand Blanc, Mich.

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:
Body cameras would take the bullying, physical or verbal, out of the police officers. I am all for these cameras. And it is not just a white officer and black citizen situation. There have been such instances between white officers and white citizens in my own small city.
— Bob Rejefski Jr.

A possible solution to the problem is hiring police officers who are actually from, or live in, the neighborhoods that they patrol. They would inspire greater trust and respect.
— Douglas Garner

Comment from Facebook:
All lives matter.
— Aileen Ho