To the editor:

A few days ago, my best friend took his own life. I arrived at his apartment building minutes too late and was compassionately supported by a state trooper and three members of the Lawrence police force. I remain so grateful to them for that.

During my one-and-a-half-hour interview at the Law Enforcement Center with two officers, I could hear the distress of my friend’s girlfriend while she was being interviewed in the room next to mine. Imagine how horrendous that situation was for us — for so long. It was the second worst part of that night, and I have yet to get those sounds out of my head. Seeing that I was being periodically traumatized in this situation, the officers apologized several times, stating that two other rooms could have separated us but were not available because of equipment failures.

Point is, you may need our superbly trained police someday, like I never thought I would. Two things became obvious to me that night: first, the professionalism of these officers and, second, the failing condition of their building equipment that added to my suffering and created a weight on their shoulders they should not have to endure.

We all deserve better. Please consider this point of view from a recent consumer of city services as you weight the pros and cons of the debate regarding your vote on Nov. 4.