Slowness in responding to freeway crisis is unacceptable

Re “Interstate 5 reopens after man threatening to jump from overpass is taken into custody” (Dec. 6) and “After police work shut I-5 for hours, the public is asking why” (Dec. 10): It should not have taken eight hours for our city’s crisis response teams to handle this delicate situation. During that time, countless residents were stranded. Many sick or vulnerable individuals may have been unable to reach hospitals or essential appointments. Parents were delayed getting home from work, and some were unable to pick up their children from day care. The extended closure created a ripple effect that touched hundreds of thousands of people across the San Diego region.

While I fully respect the need for caution and compassion in mental health emergencies, the city and the Police Department must review and update policy on how such situations can be managed more efficiently. One individual effectively held our city hostage for hours. Maintaining our critical city infrastructure is paramount. Lives depend on it.

— Ariel Mason, Del Mar

I found the police statements saying they would do the same thing in the same situation again wholly unsatisfying. While I was happy to hear the man on the bridge came to no harm, there should be some acknowledgement that there may be better ways to handle situations like this. I’d love to see more reporting on the impacts this event had on the region. For example, how many people missed flights, how much money did businesses lose because patrons could not access them, and, perhaps most critically, how many people received delayed medical care due to the traffic.

— Alex Dow, Cardiff

My wife and I are “alumni” of the I-5 closure on Dec. 5. The trip from Carlsbad to the airport took long enough (I had to drop off my sister, who was returning to New York City) that I thought it prudent to dial 511, the Traffic Alert service, before embarking on the return journey. At around 5 p.m., and then again at 6 p.m., I was assured that there were no significant problems along I-5. I know that somehow or some way, my tax dollars are funding this service, and I would like to understand why a complete closure of a major freeway in both directions is not worthy of an alert!

— Alan Hoenig, Carlsbad

The short answer to why the police shut down major thoroughfares is: Because they can.

The police are accountable to no one. The balance of public good is lost to the whims of these unimaginative, unaccountable authoritarians. Delays like this are commonplace, and will continue as long as this absolute power is unquestioningly tolerated. The proverbial five guys leaning on their shovels watching one digging was never more true than cops closing roads.

— Raymond Roth, Oceanside