I feel compelled to contact you because I cannot remain silent on this issue. We need reform in police tactics and in my opinion to end the drug war. Please do not write off this email. It is an extremely sad state of affairs when citizens in police custody are not guaranteed the same level of safety as laid out in the 1950 Geneva Convention. Police have been treating citizens like combatants in a war zone and have even fell into the same trappings that soldiers in war zones often do. We cannot have a just society when citizens fear for their safety when they are brought into police custody. We must be guaranteed safety and a fair trial before any punishment is administered. I personally believe the on going drug war has caused tensions in urban communities to rise between citizens and their police forces. There is evidence for this rise in tension as seen in the many cases of police brutality brought to national media and in many depictions of violence against police in many mainstream media outlets (music, movies, and video games). I believe the best place to stop this warlike mentality is through ending the war like mentality that the drug wars have spurred. Please do not miss the connection between police brutality, declination of murder clearance rates in urban centers, and distrust of police among private citizens and the ongoing war on drugs.