SHOOTOUT IN MALIBU

What I find so disturbing about the Donald Scott killing (“Trail’s End,� by Michael Fessier Jr., Aug. 1) is the way the government euphemistically refers to these outrageous violations of our constitutional rights as “patterns of abuse.�

These narcotics officers, who are supposed to represent the law in a nation of laws, killed this man for his property in the name of the people of the United States. They violated every precept of law and decency from the Ten Commandments to the Bill of Rights--and then government characterizes them as having been a bit overzealous.

We, as a people, should be outraged. The concept of asset forfeiture is the greatest threat to our constitutional rights since this country was formed. The potential for abuse is too great to ignore. It would be better to legalize drugs than to strip us of our constitutional rights in the fight against them.

MICHAEL A. PACER

Glendora

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What happened at Trail’s End that day should send chills down the back of anyone who believes that a man’s home is his castle--even those with the most ardent law-and-order mentality. The 15 vehicles that rumbled onto Donald Scott’s property drove right over the Bill of Rights.

T.E. REYNOLDS

Costa Mesa

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As evidenced by the seizure fever-induced raid on the Scott ranch, the Drug War is not a drug-eradication program but rather a tool used mercilessly and corruptly by government to raise revenue and expand its scope.

It is not unusual for those who have property seized by the government to never be charged with a crime, and they often face insurmountable obstables when trying to recover their property.

JAMES C. MITCHELL

Upland