To the editor:

The Suffolk City Council held a public budget meeting to get public input on the budget.

As I drove into the parking lot where the meeting was held at the downtown Hilton Garden Inn, I was greeted by two police officers. Upon entering the building, I was greeted by two more officers. As I arrived in the meeting room, there were two more policemen and two more moving through the crowd.

As I stood up to speak, there was another policeman sitting beside the podium, and as I attempted to hand my speech to the mayor I was stopped and threatened by yet another policeman.

Mixed into the crowd of about 150 people were the police chief and several other police officers.

Was all this force necessary or was this a way to intimidate the citizens attending the meeting?

Buddy Joyner

Suffolk