Submitted
7-30-07
This letter was submitted with a request to post it on the site. Read on:
Watcher,
I had the honor of working alongside of Susan Smith for years. I can say this about her: She is one, if not the most, intelligent investigator Selma has ever had, and the most intelligent I have ever worked with, though that is not really saying a lot. She works hard and follows the evidence. She and I worked many cases together, before I left Selma for greener pastures. The only time I ever knew her to take sick-leave was for deaths in her family and a couple of personal surgeries. I have seen her work sick, with no regard for her own well-being, just wanting to provide a shred of justice for a victim. Susan has the brains and ability to work anywhere she desires, she just dosen't want to leave her roots. She should be the next Chief, or maybe David Evans.
She is a devout Christian and one hell of an athlete. We played softball together as well. She is one of the toughest females, along with Mamie Haile, that I have ever been around. I do not have to build her up because anyone who has ever been around her for more than a couple of hours, already knows this.
I do not know what she has to work with now, but when I was there, we had one hell of a detective division. We closed cases, solved crimes, and we worked as a team. The Selma Police Dept. now seems poisoned by Martin's "look what I have done" attitude. When I was there, all of us just wanted to have fun, solve crimes, and help people (Martin was not included in this teamwork role. He always wanted to be the center of attention). Martin wanted to solve crimes and make cases for the headlines.
The teamwork days seem to have gone by the wayside in this new-jack "private agenda" Martin-ran P.D. He hires people that have no business arresting persons, but should be arrested themselves, which, I feel, is the ultimate hypocrisy, criminals arrested by criminals. That should be a new a reality t.v. show, with Martin, in all his glory, being the star.
I am sorry to have gotten off track. Susan is a wonderful person and some of my fondest memories with the Selma P.D. include her and I feel working with her made me a better detective and a better person, in whole. Her good traits seem to rub off on you if you are around her. I just hope none of my bad traits rubbed off on her. I would welcome the chance to work with her again, in the near future.
Thank you for giving us a form of "vent" and keep up the good work!
Mike Palmer
Prattville, Al.
