In response to the letter about police being too harsh on teens:

Most parents are afraid to speak up because of possible retributions, but there is strength in numbers. If you have a young teenager (13-15) in Peachtree City, you better pay attention, because teens are being harassed by the Peachtree City Police Department (PTCPD).

The common opinion at social gatherings is that the PTCPD are out of line when dealing with teenagers. Reports of teens being "detained" at 11:55 p.m. long enough to last past the midnight curfew, and then they are arrested for violating the curfew by minutes.

Another case where a parent had purchased liquor in a sealed case and placed it in the trunk of the family car then asked the child to run a quick errand, whereupon the teenager was pulled over and searched (illegally), then arrested for being in possession.

Illegal police activity is rampant, and supported by the juvenile court system in Fayette County. The Miranda rights and protection against illegal search and seizures apply to teenagers as well, but they are denied those rights in court. A police officer under oath told the judge that the Miranda rights were not read (without hesitation or explanation as to why it wasn't done) and still the charge stood, even though all the evidence was gathered illegally.

It is not legal to question a teenager without a parent or legal representation, but teenagers are actually questioned separately, drilled, searched, threatened with being sent to boot camp if they don't do this and that. All the information gathered under this illegal questioning is inadmissible in court, but these constitutional rights don't exist in Fayette County for our teenagers. It is shameful, illegal and undeserved.

I am talking about good kids being arrested for doing nothing wrong. Each teenager who goes through this ordeal now has one strike and is on record to be used against them until they are 18. Then, the records have to be petitioned to be sealed and it's as though nothing had ever happened other than: the $1,500 lawyer fees, $250 court costs, fines, hours of missed work and our disappointment in the judicial system.

What do our teenagers learn from a day in court where their rights are denied? It's not repentance or contrition for having done something wrong it's disdain and contempt for having been cheated by the very system that should help them.

What is the solution to this problem? If you have experienced this type of problem with the PTCPD, write in. It would be helpful if the newspaper would print these letters signed "a concerned citizen" to protect against possible retribution. We may need outside legal help but unless we have a show of concerned parents, it may fall on deaf ears.

I am sure there are good officers who find this abuse of power offensive. What I say to you is join us and become part of the solution, because otherwise you are still part of the problem.

I have the distinct honor of having met and interacted with a large percentage of our teens on the baseball fields as an umpire, a coach and a parent. These are real good people being mishandled by a corrupt system. I hate what the police are doing to them. They can't trust their local police officer.

The days are gone in Peachtree City when you can tell your teenager to ask a uniformed officer for help heck, you are more likely to get arrested for loitering than to get assistance.

Does the police department know they are alienating those who will be running Peachtree City in the years to come?