Do you tryst the Fairfax County Police to gather and keep your driving
data? Well, they are, and their is nothing you can do about it
-
*Fairfax County, VA —** Fairfax County Police officers recently utilized
license plate reader (LPR) technology and a drone to locate wanted
suspect...
"Police Set Up Task Force to Find Serial Butt Stabber"
but first take course on learning their ass from their elbow
Government worker does job, makes the news
There are a lot of questions here.......
Is this really news?
What did the guy with the flag say?
Who filed the complaint?
Was a paper trail established?
Why is this a threat to the community? why is this not a threat to the community?
What do other neighbors say?
Does this police administrator have other duties to accomplish? And isn't his behavior slightly over emotional?
What about the separation of the press from the police? If the press does PR work for the police, the press should reveal that in the piece.
We don't like what the McLean resident did with the flag and the rope, but why can't he do it? Was police intimidation the right way to handle the issue?
Read article below the glorification report "When the Police Control the Press"
McLean Police Commander Personally Investigates Complaint of Noose and Confederate Flag
Fearful Citizen Visited the Commander
By Bobbi Bowman
A McLean resident visited McLean police commander Capt. Steve Thompson last week to complain about a Confederate flag and a noose hanging in a neighbor's yard.
Thompson didn't assign an officer to go out. The McLean police commander got in a police car and personally visited the neighbor.
Neighbors told McLean Patch the story and we asked Thompson. Here is his account:
"A citizen visited me at the station Tuesday to complain about the presence of a Confederate flag and a hangman's noose hanging from a tree in a yard adjacent to Magarity Road.
"I visited the home to observe the situation and sure enough a Confederate flag was flying from the garage and the noose was hanging from a branch. The fear instilled in the citizen who visited me was obvious and the perceived message was frightening.
"We eventually made contact with the resident and asked that the noose be removed. He denied any racially offensive intent and immediately removed the rope from the tree."
When the Police Control the Press
The Serbian soldier blocking the bridge cradled his AK-47 assault rifle as he delivered a ruling that brooked no argument: You cannot cross the river. Not today.
We implored him to reconsider. We are journalists. We've driven all the way from Belgrade. Here are our credentials.
No. This road is closed.
Zashto? (Why?)
Ne! (No.)
We never made it to Zvornik, the Bosnian town just across the river. When it came to press access, the final word belonged to the men with guns. As we later learned, the Serbs had plenty to hide that spring day about their activities in eastern Bosnia.
I was reminded of that instant -- admittedly a very different set of circumstances -- when we received a call last week at ProPublica from Lance Rosenfield, a freelance photographer we had hired to work in Texas City, Texas, on stories about BP's refinery there.
Rosenfield said he had been detained by local police [1] after snapping a picture on the road into Texas City. Rosenfield said he had shown the officers and a BP security guard a letter from ProPublica that said he was on assignment. Police said he would be "taken in" if he did not let them look at the photos in his camera.
The senior officer present, Cpl. Thomas Robison, pressed Rosenfield to describe ProPublica's forthcoming story.
Rosenfield demurred but did allow police to review his photos. No threat to national security was detected -- the pictures were innocuous shots of the refinery and signage nearby. Rosenfield was eventually allowed to leave after being warned to clear further photography with the local authorities. At the request of police, he turned over his social security number and date of birth which were promptly given to the BP security officer who was present.
The men with guns had made their determination. It doesn't appear that they had much of a legal or logical basis to do so.
Why would potential terrorists take photos from a public street when they can view detailed reasonably high-resolution satellite photos via Google [2]? What could possibly be gained from a ground-level shot, even with a telephoto lens?
Michael Marr, a BP spokesman in Texas City, said that the company acted because "an unidentified man" had been seen taking photos near refinery facilities, including "marine loading operations." Marr said Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard regulations require the company to report anyone "appearing to be engaged in surveillance of any kind (picture taking, note taking, shooting video, asking strange questions, etc)."
David Schulz, a media lawyer who teaches at the Columbia Law School, told me that the rules are not so broad as to allow inspection of a journalist's unpublished photos. "It is not against the law to take photos from a public street," he said.
"While federal regulations do require critical facilities to report suspicious activities, they do not sanction police demands to inspect photos taken by a working journalist," Schulz said. "A demand to see the photos smacks of censorship -- monitoring the news before it's published, with police acting as censors of what they like and don't like. Police simply don't have the power to do that, and we should all be concerned when provisions intended to safeguard our security are twisted to intimidate journalists."
In the weeks since the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, local authorities in Louisiana and elsewhere have made it more difficult for reporters and television crews to follow the story, restricting access to public beaches and waterways More recently, the Coast Guard has set limits on how close news crews can come to booms and oily beaches.
There is, of course, good reason to keep the press away from potentially dangerous pollution sites. And there's at least an equally valid public policy rationale for keeping an eye on people who are photographing critical infrastructure like a refinery.
And it's even harder to understand what circumstances justify allowing the police to review a journalist's work before publication.
News organizations fight hard to preserve the privacy of unpublished notes and photographs. The reasons are understandable. People often talk to reporters in confidence. We are not an arm of law enforcement and wouldn't want potential sources to feel that every dealing they have with us is open to scrutiny. News organizations routinely fight to quash subpoenas for unpublished material.
In the Texas City case, there was no confusion about Rosenfield's status as a journalist. He was carrying a letter from ProPublica confirming his assignment. The police officers who detained him made no effort to call editors here before questioning his credentials and detaining him. Marr's statement suggests that he was taking pictures near a marine loading facility. That may be true, but then a good swath of the Texas City is "near" one part of the port or another. And none of the photographs depict such facilities themselves.
This wasn't the first time journalists and the Texas City police have been in conflict. Capt. Ross Clements told me the police have a "standard practice" of reviewing photos snapped by tourists and news photographers because shots of "critical infrastructure" could be of use to terrorists.
A photographer for a local newspaper, The Galveston County Daily News, was detained in 2008 after shooting pictures of refinery workers trying to contain a leak at Marathon Oil Co.
Cpl. Robison, the local police's contact with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the same officer who tried to get Rosenfield to disclose the contents of ProPublica's story, defended the policy, telling the Daily News:
"There's no law that says you can't take pictures from a public roadway, but the issue becomes: Are any of the shots compromising security measures?"
Michael Smith, associate editor of the Daily News, said the paper has pressed repeatedly for police to identify a federal law that permits them to review photos.
"As far as I can tell, there is no law that grants the police this power," he said.
"Nobody can point to a law of the United States of America or the State of Texas that allows police to do this," Smith continued. "This is an assumed power that the police have taken on themselves based on this amorphous notion that the demands of the security state allow this and if you're a good citizen, you shouldn't make a fuss."
To be fair, the streets of Texas City are nothing like the back roads of war-torn former Yugoslavia. But it's worth recording this historical note: The day I was stopped from entering Zvornik, a group of paramilitary soldiers had begun an "ethnic cleansing" that would leave hundreds of Muslim civilians dead. It was among the more brutal massacres of the war. One reason we know what happened is that one of the paramilitary groups invited an American photographer to accompany it.
Is this really news?
What did the guy with the flag say?
Who filed the complaint?
Was a paper trail established?
Why is this a threat to the community? why is this not a threat to the community?
What do other neighbors say?
Does this police administrator have other duties to accomplish? And isn't his behavior slightly over emotional?
What about the separation of the press from the police? If the press does PR work for the police, the press should reveal that in the piece.
We don't like what the McLean resident did with the flag and the rope, but why can't he do it? Was police intimidation the right way to handle the issue?
Read article below the glorification report "When the Police Control the Press"
Fearful Citizen Visited the Commander
By Bobbi Bowman
A McLean resident visited McLean police commander Capt. Steve Thompson last week to complain about a Confederate flag and a noose hanging in a neighbor's yard.
Thompson didn't assign an officer to go out. The McLean police commander got in a police car and personally visited the neighbor.
Neighbors told McLean Patch the story and we asked Thompson. Here is his account:
"A citizen visited me at the station Tuesday to complain about the presence of a Confederate flag and a hangman's noose hanging from a tree in a yard adjacent to Magarity Road.
"I visited the home to observe the situation and sure enough a Confederate flag was flying from the garage and the noose was hanging from a branch. The fear instilled in the citizen who visited me was obvious and the perceived message was frightening.
"We eventually made contact with the resident and asked that the noose be removed. He denied any racially offensive intent and immediately removed the rope from the tree."
When the Police Control the Press
by Stephen Engelberg
ProPublica,
July 7, 2010, 5:52 p.m.
The Serbian soldier blocking the bridge cradled his AK-47 assault rifle as he delivered a ruling that brooked no argument: You cannot cross the river. Not today.
We implored him to reconsider. We are journalists. We've driven all the way from Belgrade. Here are our credentials.
No. This road is closed.
Zashto? (Why?)
Ne! (No.)
We never made it to Zvornik, the Bosnian town just across the river. When it came to press access, the final word belonged to the men with guns. As we later learned, the Serbs had plenty to hide that spring day about their activities in eastern Bosnia.
I was reminded of that instant -- admittedly a very different set of circumstances -- when we received a call last week at ProPublica from Lance Rosenfield, a freelance photographer we had hired to work in Texas City, Texas, on stories about BP's refinery there.
Rosenfield said he had been detained by local police [1] after snapping a picture on the road into Texas City. Rosenfield said he had shown the officers and a BP security guard a letter from ProPublica that said he was on assignment. Police said he would be "taken in" if he did not let them look at the photos in his camera.
The senior officer present, Cpl. Thomas Robison, pressed Rosenfield to describe ProPublica's forthcoming story.
Rosenfield demurred but did allow police to review his photos. No threat to national security was detected -- the pictures were innocuous shots of the refinery and signage nearby. Rosenfield was eventually allowed to leave after being warned to clear further photography with the local authorities. At the request of police, he turned over his social security number and date of birth which were promptly given to the BP security officer who was present.
The men with guns had made their determination. It doesn't appear that they had much of a legal or logical basis to do so.
Why would potential terrorists take photos from a public street when they can view detailed reasonably high-resolution satellite photos via Google [2]? What could possibly be gained from a ground-level shot, even with a telephoto lens?
Michael Marr, a BP spokesman in Texas City, said that the company acted because "an unidentified man" had been seen taking photos near refinery facilities, including "marine loading operations." Marr said Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard regulations require the company to report anyone "appearing to be engaged in surveillance of any kind (picture taking, note taking, shooting video, asking strange questions, etc)."
David Schulz, a media lawyer who teaches at the Columbia Law School, told me that the rules are not so broad as to allow inspection of a journalist's unpublished photos. "It is not against the law to take photos from a public street," he said.
"While federal regulations do require critical facilities to report suspicious activities, they do not sanction police demands to inspect photos taken by a working journalist," Schulz said. "A demand to see the photos smacks of censorship -- monitoring the news before it's published, with police acting as censors of what they like and don't like. Police simply don't have the power to do that, and we should all be concerned when provisions intended to safeguard our security are twisted to intimidate journalists."
In the weeks since the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, local authorities in Louisiana and elsewhere have made it more difficult for reporters and television crews to follow the story, restricting access to public beaches and waterways More recently, the Coast Guard has set limits on how close news crews can come to booms and oily beaches.
There is, of course, good reason to keep the press away from potentially dangerous pollution sites. And there's at least an equally valid public policy rationale for keeping an eye on people who are photographing critical infrastructure like a refinery.
And it's even harder to understand what circumstances justify allowing the police to review a journalist's work before publication.
News organizations fight hard to preserve the privacy of unpublished notes and photographs. The reasons are understandable. People often talk to reporters in confidence. We are not an arm of law enforcement and wouldn't want potential sources to feel that every dealing they have with us is open to scrutiny. News organizations routinely fight to quash subpoenas for unpublished material.
In the Texas City case, there was no confusion about Rosenfield's status as a journalist. He was carrying a letter from ProPublica confirming his assignment. The police officers who detained him made no effort to call editors here before questioning his credentials and detaining him. Marr's statement suggests that he was taking pictures near a marine loading facility. That may be true, but then a good swath of the Texas City is "near" one part of the port or another. And none of the photographs depict such facilities themselves.
This wasn't the first time journalists and the Texas City police have been in conflict. Capt. Ross Clements told me the police have a "standard practice" of reviewing photos snapped by tourists and news photographers because shots of "critical infrastructure" could be of use to terrorists.
A photographer for a local newspaper, The Galveston County Daily News, was detained in 2008 after shooting pictures of refinery workers trying to contain a leak at Marathon Oil Co.
Cpl. Robison, the local police's contact with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the same officer who tried to get Rosenfield to disclose the contents of ProPublica's story, defended the policy, telling the Daily News:
"There's no law that says you can't take pictures from a public roadway, but the issue becomes: Are any of the shots compromising security measures?"
Michael Smith, associate editor of the Daily News, said the paper has pressed repeatedly for police to identify a federal law that permits them to review photos.
"As far as I can tell, there is no law that grants the police this power," he said.
"Nobody can point to a law of the United States of America or the State of Texas that allows police to do this," Smith continued. "This is an assumed power that the police have taken on themselves based on this amorphous notion that the demands of the security state allow this and if you're a good citizen, you shouldn't make a fuss."
To be fair, the streets of Texas City are nothing like the back roads of war-torn former Yugoslavia. But it's worth recording this historical note: The day I was stopped from entering Zvornik, a group of paramilitary soldiers had begun an "ethnic cleansing" that would leave hundreds of Muslim civilians dead. It was among the more brutal massacres of the war. One reason we know what happened is that one of the paramilitary groups invited an American photographer to accompany it.
Lets go over this one more time: The problem is Rohrer. Replace Rohrer with someone from the outside and the police culture of arrogance will start to die
Fairfax chief apologizes in Masters shooting, but family isn’t satisfied
By Tom Jackman, Published: August 12
After Fairfax County police acknowledged in late June that they had fired the officer who shot and killed unarmed motorist David Masters in 2009, Chief David M. Rohrer said he would apologize to the Masters family.
Eventually, Rohrer called Masters’s father, mother, sister and ex-wife and offered each his apologies. He also arranged to have Masters’s truck towed back to Fredericksburg, where Masters’s ex-wife and stepdaughter, the executors of his estate, live.
Fairfax chief apologizes in Masters shooting, but family isn’t satisfied
The State of NoVa: Fairfax chief’s apology in Masters case: The rest of the story
Fairfax police officer fired for role in David Masters killing
But Masters’s parents said they were offended that the chief called the victim’s ex-wife first, and only called them in response to an inquiry from Barrie Masters, his father, a month later. The chief then declined to share any information with them about the shooting, Barrie Masters said.
David Masters’s ex-wife, meanwhile, said that her former husband’s truck had been left open to the elements in a police field in Chantilly for more than a year and a half, and that all of his carpenter’s tools were gone.
Barrie Masters, a retired Army colonel living in Florida, said when he asked Rohrer for a copy of a police report on the shooting, he was “shocked that a police department would act like they’re above the law; that he would tell me it was none of my business. I’m just the father of the victim.” He said he planned to offer his support to a Fairfax citizens’ group that wants to establish independent oversight of the police.
Rohrer declined to comment through Mary Ann Jennings, a Fairfax police spokeswoman.
David A. Masters, 52, was driving his Chevrolet Blazer up Route 1 in the Alexandria area, just south of the Capital Beltway, on Nov. 13, 2009, when officers signaled for him to pull over near Fort Hunt Road. But when he began to slowly roll away from the three officers, Officer David Scott Ziants told investigators he thought the driver was reaching for a gun. Ziants fired his weapon, killing Masters.
Prosecutors soon cleared Ziants of any criminal liability. But in May of this year, Rohrer fired Ziants. Jennings acknowledged the firing on June 28. And in a July 2 Washington Post editorial, Rohrer said that he would apologize to the Masters family.
On July 11, Rohrer phoned Gail Masters, David Masters’s ex-wife, who remained his closest friend. She said Rohrer apologized and had two police commanders drive to Fredericksburg, pick her up and take her to the Fairfax police shooting range, where the Blazer was located in a field.
Gail Masters said the vehicle was uncovered, its rear window open after having been shot out 20 months earlier. She was shown the front seat — still blood-spattered and cluttered — and said she nearly fainted.
She said she asked if David Masters’s tools were in the back and was assured they were. But when the Blazer was returned to Fredericksburg, the tools were gone, she said. She said the police offered to pay for a missing miter saw.
Barrie Masters had read about the chief’s offer of an apology, but after waiting for four weeks, he decided to call Rohrer himself. He said Rohrer called him back two days later and that he told the chief, “You haven’t called anybody and I’m outraged.” Rohrer told him he’d called Gail Masters, but Barrie Masters said, “She’s not a member of the family,” having divorced his son years ago.
Barrie Masters then reminded Rohrer that his son’s mother, Delores Masters, and sister, Joyce Shields, live in Manassas and hadn’t been contacted. Rohrer then called both the women.
“We just find it amazing,” said Jon Shields, Joyce Shields’s husband, “that Chief Rohrer could be so insensitive to the feelings of a 79-year-old woman . . . it appears his intention was never to apologize until Colonel Masters called.”
Jennings said the chief apologized because “it hurts him when somebody dies, regardless of the justification or circumstances. He feels it, and he feels for the family.” She declined to comment on the Masters family’s complaints.
By Tom Jackman, Published: August 12
After Fairfax County police acknowledged in late June that they had fired the officer who shot and killed unarmed motorist David Masters in 2009, Chief David M. Rohrer said he would apologize to the Masters family.
Eventually, Rohrer called Masters’s father, mother, sister and ex-wife and offered each his apologies. He also arranged to have Masters’s truck towed back to Fredericksburg, where Masters’s ex-wife and stepdaughter, the executors of his estate, live.
Fairfax chief apologizes in Masters shooting, but family isn’t satisfied
The State of NoVa: Fairfax chief’s apology in Masters case: The rest of the story
Fairfax police officer fired for role in David Masters killing
But Masters’s parents said they were offended that the chief called the victim’s ex-wife first, and only called them in response to an inquiry from Barrie Masters, his father, a month later. The chief then declined to share any information with them about the shooting, Barrie Masters said.
David Masters’s ex-wife, meanwhile, said that her former husband’s truck had been left open to the elements in a police field in Chantilly for more than a year and a half, and that all of his carpenter’s tools were gone.
Barrie Masters, a retired Army colonel living in Florida, said when he asked Rohrer for a copy of a police report on the shooting, he was “shocked that a police department would act like they’re above the law; that he would tell me it was none of my business. I’m just the father of the victim.” He said he planned to offer his support to a Fairfax citizens’ group that wants to establish independent oversight of the police.
Rohrer declined to comment through Mary Ann Jennings, a Fairfax police spokeswoman.
David A. Masters, 52, was driving his Chevrolet Blazer up Route 1 in the Alexandria area, just south of the Capital Beltway, on Nov. 13, 2009, when officers signaled for him to pull over near Fort Hunt Road. But when he began to slowly roll away from the three officers, Officer David Scott Ziants told investigators he thought the driver was reaching for a gun. Ziants fired his weapon, killing Masters.
Prosecutors soon cleared Ziants of any criminal liability. But in May of this year, Rohrer fired Ziants. Jennings acknowledged the firing on June 28. And in a July 2 Washington Post editorial, Rohrer said that he would apologize to the Masters family.
On July 11, Rohrer phoned Gail Masters, David Masters’s ex-wife, who remained his closest friend. She said Rohrer apologized and had two police commanders drive to Fredericksburg, pick her up and take her to the Fairfax police shooting range, where the Blazer was located in a field.
Gail Masters said the vehicle was uncovered, its rear window open after having been shot out 20 months earlier. She was shown the front seat — still blood-spattered and cluttered — and said she nearly fainted.
She said she asked if David Masters’s tools were in the back and was assured they were. But when the Blazer was returned to Fredericksburg, the tools were gone, she said. She said the police offered to pay for a missing miter saw.
Barrie Masters had read about the chief’s offer of an apology, but after waiting for four weeks, he decided to call Rohrer himself. He said Rohrer called him back two days later and that he told the chief, “You haven’t called anybody and I’m outraged.” Rohrer told him he’d called Gail Masters, but Barrie Masters said, “She’s not a member of the family,” having divorced his son years ago.
Barrie Masters then reminded Rohrer that his son’s mother, Delores Masters, and sister, Joyce Shields, live in Manassas and hadn’t been contacted. Rohrer then called both the women.
“We just find it amazing,” said Jon Shields, Joyce Shields’s husband, “that Chief Rohrer could be so insensitive to the feelings of a 79-year-old woman . . . it appears his intention was never to apologize until Colonel Masters called.”
Jennings said the chief apologized because “it hurts him when somebody dies, regardless of the justification or circumstances. He feels it, and he feels for the family.” She declined to comment on the Masters family’s complaints.
Idiots at work
- 20 Hamilton ON cops sued by refugee claiming cops beat him while he was cuffed during wrong-door drug raid [3] http://bit.ly/qU23o5
- 15 Gloucester Twp NJ cops are accused of excessive force on 2 teen boys who claim they were beaten & hit with batons while arrested. Police maintain they attacked the officers who were called by a store owner claiming the teens threatened him but witnesses and the store owner appear to be contradicting that version of events. [3] http://bit.ly/orBdgp
- 4 Cleveland OH cops are the subject of a suit filed by a man alleging excessive force was used after a New Years chase that was captured on helicopter video and is still the subject of a federal investigation. [1] http://ow.ly/1vtRLA
- US ICE agents are being sued over a series of predawn raids where 1 woman alleges an agent groped her, her sister claims the officer remained in the room when they were allowed to change, and a couple claims the agents lacked a warrant during the raids. [3] http://ow.ly/1vuD57
- New York NY cop sentenced to 1yr after jury convicted him of official misconduct in case where he was accused of sexually assaulting a drunk woman while his partner, scheduled for sentencing Wednesday, stood lookout. [0] http://is.gd/wbCOsq
- Denver Co CO deputy was sentenced to 24yrs after pleading to child abuse & attempt sexual assault charges involving 8 & 12-year-old boys [0] http://bit.ly/qFKDZj
- Another Denver Co CO deputy pleads guilty to a reduced attempted sexual assault on a child charge involving a teen girl [0] http://ow.ly/1vuJQn
- Burlington NC cop gets 5mo jail in plea deal to indecent liberties with a minor involving a 14yr-old girl in the police explorer’s program [0] http://ow.ly/1vuqM5
- Orleans Parish LA deputy investigated for leaving post while inmate on suicide watch killed self w/toilet paper [0] http://bit.ly/rpFQYM
- Romulus MI police dept fires officer who filed a racial discrimination complaint alleging he was referred to as “monkey” that launched a 3 year-long state probe [4] http://bit.ly/q3FlQV
- Eudora KS police officer arrested on misd battery charge after woman suffered minor injuries claims he struck her [1] http://bit.ly/nU9Vr7
- Hudson Co NJ retired capt now serving as director of narcotics div investigated for possible pension violations [0] http://ow.ly/1vu155
Idiots at work
- Plano TX settles suit for $245k to the family of man who was fatally shot by an officer claiming it was a misfire caused when he adjusted his gun-mounted light during a drug sting [0] http://ow.ly/1vy6LS
- Gretna LA police sued by man alleging cops released K9 that bit off his penis and lied to justify the use of force. The police report claims the dog was released because officers feared the victim was attempting to flee out a back door or window when the victim’s apartment didn’t have any. [3] http://ow.ly/1vyKku
- 3 Providence RI cops sued by man for excessive force after surveillance video apparently contradicted cops claims that he slammed himself into a traffic officer’s car before beating him with flashlights [4] http://ow.ly/1vzaRw
- Portland OR transit cops sued for tasering a man who has an IQ of 55 for not leaving bus that a driver let him sit in because it was cold out then mistook his seizure medication for ecstasy when they arrested him. [0] http://ow.ly/1vyL2s
- Westport MA settles suit for $50k to man alleging off-duty cop used excessive force during false arrest [0] http://ow.ly/1vxL7B
- Laurel MD cop sentenced to 4yrs for secretly videotaping a 15yr-old girl undressing, the sentence is to be served concurrent to his 7 year sentence on federal child porn charges [0] http://ow.ly/1vyAEq
- Hawaii Co HI police accused of excessive force by blogger claiming he was tackled & arrested for videotaping cops [1] http://ow.ly/1vy78U
- Houston TX police audit reveals more than 3000 more untested rape kits linger in evidence in addition to 4220 known [0] http://ow.ly/1vzbFe
- Shillington PA cop gets 6-23mo in plea deal for stalking & harassing woman, broke into her home & planted GPS device [0] http://ow.ly/1vyRM0
- Hileah Gardens FL cop arrested on allegations he was part of gang that robbed trucks of millions in cargo [0] http://ow.ly/1vyRig
- US Border Patrol agent in AZ arrested after caught on surveillance video stealing woman’s purse from car off duty [0] http://ow.ly/1vyRNT
- Nicholas Co KY sheriff pleads guilty to theft & abuse of trust for personal use of $43k in forfeiture money [0] http://ow.ly/1vyMP4
- Onandaga Co NY deputy pleads guilty to falsifying time record in swipe card forgery scheme, was head of union [0] http://ow.ly/1vyNPQ
- Fair Oaks TX cop pleads guilty to lying about his citizenship to feds in effort to join the FBI [0] http://ow.ly/1vyRKQ
Idiots at work
- Springfield MA cop who was one of 4 who were disciplined for their roles in a videotaped beating has filed wiretapping charges against the person who taped it [5] http://ow.ly/1vBhCi
- Selma CA cop pleads guilty to possession of child porn charges for over 600 pics & vids, some violent in nature [0] http://ow.ly/1vAXGW
- New York NY cop sentenced to 2mo for official misconduct, accused of being look out as partner raped drunk woman [0] http://ow.ly/1vA6CH
- Chattanooga TN cop suspended while subject of internal & criminal investigation on allegations he assaulted teen [2] http://ow.ly/1vBcFs
- RCMP officer in N Vancouver BC accused of falsely arresting man after recognizing him as man who sued RCMP before [3] http://ow.ly/1vA54d
- Chicago IL more potential police torture victims get help from political figures to file new rounds of appeals [0] http://ow.ly/1vzZOQ
- Gilbert AZ pays $37k to settle suit to teen falsely accused of theft by cop in alleged school psych experiment [1] http://ow.ly/1vBEqO
- Pasco Co FL deputy suspended after arrested for resisting while his friend was arrested for drug paraphernalia [0] http://ow.ly/1vBphW
- RCMP cop in BC given written reprimand for leaving 10mo-old police dog in hot car for 3hrs while boating [0] http://ow.ly/1vAXLD
- Hamlin TX cop files grievance after fired for taser misuse, claims friend asked to be tasered [0] http://ow.ly/1vAXJ4
- 3 Hartford CT cops suspected of double-dipping after audit of private duty assignments show potential abuses [0] http://ow.ly/1vA5Oe
Idiots at work
- 2 Toronto ON cops were charged with assault after a man suffered facial fractures while in their custody after he was arrested over a dispute he had with a parking cop [1] http://ow.ly/1vCvyf
- Palo Alto CA settles suit for $35k to a transient who was tasered after officers tricked into leaving his van that he was legally living in by telling him they were towing it. [0] http://ow.ly/1vDSxv
- Hackensack NJ cop charged w/witness tampering & obstruction for his alleged interference into an assault investigation against a fellow officer [0] http://ow.ly/1vDBNN
- A Toronto ON judge ruled that the only aggression at a G20 protest was perpetrated by police when he dismissed charges against one of several protesters who were tackled and arrested during that protest [0] http://ow.ly/1vDAVS
- Monrovia CA police sued by woman claiming she lost job & was left homeless after a cop tackled & falsely arrested her for asking an officer who pulled her over if they could hurry up because she had to deliver blood that she had in her car as part of her job [3] http://ow.ly/1vCS64
- Philadelphia PA cop is under investigation on allegations that he sexually assaulted a teen girl in his patrol car, while specifics aren’t being released there appears to be DNA evidence involved. [1] http://ow.ly/1vCRRJ
- Lake Charles LA police officer arrested on child pornography charges after a multi-agency search was conducted at his home [0] http://ow.ly/1vDyno
- Greenwood IN cop accused of cuffing & threatening man while off duty resigns before his disciplinary hearing [0] http://ow.ly/1vD12p
- Cheyenne WY cop found guilty of false imprisonment but cleared of more serious charges involving domestic dispute [0] http://ow.ly/1vCvZ9
- Marblehead MA cop arrested after allegedly threatening to kill himself, his wife & daughter over pending divorce [0] http://ow.ly/1vCvOu
- Dallas TX cop suspended 15days over domestic incident where wife accused him of choking & kicking her then recanted [0] http://ow.ly/1vDC0S
- 2 Raleigh NC cops suspended while investigated for their statements to internal affairs about cop’s sex w/prostitute [0] http://ow.ly/1vCPM3
- US Treasury police officer at mint charged w/fraud for collecting $173k in disability while making $300k on side job [0] http://ow.ly/1vCPHH
- Harahan LA cop sentenced to probation in plea to timesheet fraud to get $20k extra pay from crime victim grant [0] http://ow.ly/1vDxUK
- 6 Miami-Dade FL cops & a sgt have been suspended for a month while subject of unspecified probe into on-duty conduct, all of the 6 are in the same unit [3] http://ow.ly/1vDy9a
- Finally, 2 Aurora CO cops were charged while driving a patrol car through Wyoming on the way to a fallen officer’s funeral in South Dakota. One was charged with driving under the influence and the other was cited for littering after they were stopped for speeding. [0] http://ow.ly/1vD0XM
In the past six years the Fairfax County Police have held about 140 Sobriety checkpoints
that stopped over 100,000 cars and questioned over 150,000 citizens ………..and resulted in under 300 DWI arrests, about 2.9%. at an estimated cost to us of almost $1,000,000.00
Again, the cops have too much money, not enough to do and are overstaffed.
It’s your government. It’s your money….85% of the cops in the department don’t even live here…..do something about. Elected anyone new to the board of supervisors.
Again, the cops have too much money, not enough to do and are overstaffed.
It’s your government. It’s your money….85% of the cops in the department don’t even live here…..do something about. Elected anyone new to the board of supervisors.
When was the last time the cops gave you $100,000?
Budget item: Police and Fire World Games $100,000Funding of $100,000 and 1/1.0 SYE position is required to provide ongoing support for the 2015 Police and Fire World Games in Fairfax County. The games are an Olympic‐style event held biennially throughout the world to promote friendly competition, camaraderie, and international relationships among the participants….other cops.
Its our government not their social club.
Do something...get out and vote for elected officials who aren't cowed by the cops
Fairfax County Police use $200,000,000 to arrest arrest 12 dogs a day in Fairfax County
.....thank God we have the police around
The cops have bilked you out of over $20,000,000 in overtime but they have time to arrest 12 dogs a day.......Okay, one more time...we have to many cops, they have too much of our money and they don't have enough to do.
Its your government, not theirs. Vote for change.
SWAT team to help control Fairfax deer (Actual headline)
SWAT team to help control Fairfax deer
but first we need to teach the deer to gamble and then arm them with cell phones, you know, make it a fair fight and all that.
Idiots at work
- Bethlehem PA cop gets probation in reduced charge plea deal for destroying video evidence in brutality case [0] http://ow.ly/1vkwWe
- Baltimore MD police notified of ACLU intent to sue for arresting man & deleting videos of arrest from his phone [4] http://ow.ly/1vlgQF
- Marysville PA cop already serving 10yrs for molesting 12+ girls pleads no contest to repeatedly molesting another [0] http://ow.ly/1vkuCX
- Grainger Co TN deputy pleads guilty to fed enticement charges for enticing 13 & 16yr-old girls to have sex w/him [0] http://ow.ly/1vlD0t
- Tucson AZ police lt fired after 9mo investigation into allegations he had sexually explicit chats w/minors online [1] http://ow.ly/1vlllB
- Baton Rouge LA cop arrested on allegations he broke into home of woman used to date & assaulted her 2x while on duty [0] http://ow.ly/1vlHW5
- Kalamazoo MI police officer suspended after arrested on suspicion of domestic violence following wife’s 911 call [1] http://ow.ly/1vkv8x
- Los Angeles Co CA deputy fired after video contradicted his version of why he fired shots at car while off duty [2] http://ow.ly/1vlmJd
- Laredo TX cop sentenced to 6.5yrs prison for helping drug trafficker protect and move cocaine shipment [0] http://ow.ly/1vlmSJ
- Pharr TX cop sentenced to 12yrs on federal charges for protecting cocaine & gun shipments for drug cartel [0] http://ow.ly/1vkQdT
- Bluff City TN police chief suspended while investigated for possible improper handling of confiscated vehicles [0] http://ow.ly/1vl1FY
- Homer MI police chief & an officer subject of search warrants in criminal probe involving salvage titles [1] http://ow.ly/1vl6j2
- Union City NJ police chief ($209k/yr) accused of claiming $45k/yr pay for hours not worked as school security detail [3] http://ow.ly/1vl28d
- Los Angeles CA police dpt sued by 10 officers alleging retaliation for refusal to meet illegal traffic ticket quotas [3] http://ow.ly/1vls7x
- Rapides Parish LA sheriff accused of nixing dog shooting probe vs pal, whistleblower allegedly fired for animal porn [0] http://ow.ly/1vkYOS
- Renton WA police convince prosecutor & judge to get cyberstalking warrant to find out who made cartoons mocking cops [3] http://ow.ly/1vkPYm
- North Corwall PA cop suspended 2days for unspecified police act violation a month after other cop fired for same [3] http://ow.ly/1vlw2X
Idiots at work
- Brea CA police sued by family of man suspected of robbery who was unarmed when fatally shot by cop armed with a rifle [2] http://ow.ly/1vmUWg
- Oakland CA police lose lawsuit for $200k to 2 black men strip searched in public during unwarranted traffic stop [3] http://ow.ly/1vmDhH
- South Burlington VT cop sued by woman falsely convicted on drug charge & man illegally detained & strip searched [3] http://ow.ly/1vmFvE
- Boynton Beach FL cop arrested after video shows he lied about arrest & planted gun on suspect, 3rd this week [0] http://ow.ly/1vmELJ
- Los Angeles CA Airport police officer suspended while investigated for alleged sexual assault of woman while on duty [0] http://ow.ly/1vnvFw
- Salt Lake Co UT sheriff’s dept sued by ACLU for man detained 39days after court ordered release & ICE hold dropped [3] http://ow.ly/1vnz4j
- US drug test used by US DEA & law enforcement agencies across US called into question by judges in DC & Colorado [0] http://ow.ly/1vnGx5
- 4 Washington DC cops accused of ignoring hate crimes by refusing to take report from 5 lesbians assaulted by 2 men [0] http://ow.ly/1vnuXE
- Centreville IL cop arrested on felony child abuse charges for allegedly injuring 2yr-old boy w/blow to the head [0] http://ow.ly/1vn7t0
- Edinburg TX cop gets probation for single felony misuse of police database in plea deal dropping pages of charges [0] http://ow.ly/1vnuqp
- Renton WA cops accused of shopping cyberstalking case to prosecutors to retaliate against cartoonist critical of cops[3] http://ow.ly/1vnOSB
- Plantation FL cop suspended 2days w/o pay for texting domestic violence victim that her toenail polish turned him on [0] http://ow.ly/1vn0cf
- Broward Co FL deputy transferred to all-male jail and “counseled” after claims of sexual misconduct at woman’s jail [0] http://ow.ly/1vnBEQ
- Gary IN cop accused of sex w/suspect assigned to motor pool after prosecutor says he won’t take cases from him [1] http://ow.ly/1vnOv8
- Belton MO cop shown grabbing teen’s butt on Quik-Trip store surveillance video in legal claim filed against city [3] http://ow.ly/1vnTIn
- Franklin Co NC sheriff reportedly admits to embezzling over $90k from drug fund & charity for kids, but not charged [0] http://ow.ly/1vnyS7
- Washington DC cop arrested on felony car theft charges for allegedly failing to return car he rented in 2009 [0] http://ow.ly/1vnxjd
- Orlando FL cop reprimanded for using unsterilized swab to test man’s mouth for drugs during stop w/o cause or consent[0] http://ow.ly/1vmWBR
- Brockport NY police lose defamation suit against newspaper in attempt to discover names of anonymous commenters [0] http://ow.ly/1vmVcH
- Luzerne Co PA deputy charged w/assault, burglary & harassment sfor allegedly attacking her ex-girlfriend’s girlfriend [0] http://ow.ly/1vmPJb
- 2 New Orleans LA cops, mom & son, plead guilty to multiple charges for attacking a bouncer at bar while off duty [0] http://ow.ly/1vmJzB
- Coventry RI cop fired by Law Enforcement Bill of Rights Panel 9mo after convicted of masturbating in front of 2 women[0] http://ow.ly/1vmFIY
- Bluffton SC settles suit for $86k to ex-police lt claiming she was wrongly fired for complaining about misconduct [4] http://ow.ly/1vmJzh
- El Paso Co CO deputy w/2 reckless driving convictions investigated after causing fatal crash by running red light [0] http://ow.ly/1vmJxX
- West Virginia state trooper subject of suit by flagger claiming he fell asleep at wheel when he hit her with cruiser [0] http://ow.ly/1vmDDh
- California Hwy Patrol officer arrested on multiple domestic abuse charges then a week later for violating order [0] http://ow.ly/1vmDp5
Idiots at work
- Norway SC police refuse to disclose information about why an officer fatally shot a minister to death after an alleged chase that only lasted a couple of minutes. [3] http://ow.ly/1vpk3R
- Toronto ON cops are under investigation after a mute man who was well-liked by neighbors died when he was thrown to the ground and cuffed for unknown reasons. [4] http://ow.ly/1vpe1X
- New York NY police are being sued by a man who survived anywhere from 15 to 27 gunshot wounds when several officers unleashed a volley of gunfire that left 1 dead & 6 injured while he was struggling with a man who pulled a gun. [3] http://ow.ly/1vpAcM
- Toronto ON police are the subject of an SIU investigation but neither agency will say why undercover cops attempted to stop a car, why the driver was shot in the arm, or what he was charged with along with his passenger after the incident. [4] http://ow.ly/1vsoUg
- Fort Dodge IA cop arrested on sexual abuse & extortion charges after accused of sexually assaulting woman in April [1] http://ow.ly/1vpfrB
- Henrico County VA deputy was arrested on possession & production of child porn charges after his home raided back in May [1] http://ow.ly/1vpeR7
- Juneau AK cop gets deal dropping sexual abuse of a minor charges in exchange for a plea to an interference charge [0] http://ow.ly/1vqmfe
- New York NY cops owe $1,000,000 in unpaid tickets according to a report on parking placard abuses, cops blame finance dept [0] http://ow.ly/1vpsxs
- Indianapolis IN police car was videotaped by a motorist doing over 100mph on a highway without it’s lights or sirens on [0] http://ow.ly/1vsnOA
- New York NY police sgt suspended 30days w/o pay after arrested on DUI charge when stopped for running red light [0] http://ow.ly/1vrR4J
- Winooski VT cop charged w/drunk driving after found slumped over steering wheel in highway median while off duty [0] http://ow.ly/1vpktD
Its a government not a social club
The Fairfax County Police take in over $200,000,000 (Its actually about $225,000 a day) a year and use a portion of it to finance a 40 person honor guard...40 people.....honor guard....think about......
......wouldn't it be great if parts of the media didn't report this sort of thing as a cuddly feature piece and looked at the deeper issue that perhaps we have too many cops with nothing else to do?
We need to hire a board of supervisors who aren't cowed by the cops. There's an election coming...vote for anyone but the people already in office and let's make a change.
Elected leaders
Today, Radley Balko asked his readers an interesting question as to whether appointing or electing law enforcement leadership had anything to do with police misconduct. It was an interesting question so I decided to run some analysis on our data and see if there were any correlations between misconduct rates and leadership selection types.
The results were sort of interesting.
First, just looking at overall misconduct per capita rates the results appear to indicate that agencies with elected leaders have less misconduct. Our 2009 Annual Report indicated that the national police misconduct rate was a projected 980.64 officers per 100,000. When we segment that into local Police Departments and Sheriff’s Offices we find that Police departments where leaders are appointed had a misconduct rate of 990.09 per 100,000 while Sheriffs offices where leaders are elected had a misconduct rate of 644.14 per 100,000.
Our 2010 data is somewhat similar in the breakdown. While the overall misconduct rate was 977.98 per 100,000, police departments had a misconduct rate of 1082.04 per 100,000 and sheriff’s agencies had a misconduct rate of 706.74 per 100,000.
So, it would seem that elected officials do better than appointed officials. However, when we look at the number of agencies and leaders implicated in misconduct we see something different.
In 2009 our data indicated that 10.8% of police agencies had officers involved in police misconduct while 7.8% of sheriff’s departments had officers implicated in acts of misconduct. But, in 2010 14% of police agencies had officers implicated in misconduct and 18% of sheriff’s departments had officers implicated in misconduct. Additionally, in 2010, 2.5% of police chiefs were implicated in acts of misconduct while 3.5% of sheriffs were implicated in misconduct. So, when we examine the numbers by agency the picture is a bit more muddled.
However, I personally think that, more importantly than how law enforcement leaders are selected, the laws and policies that govern those leaders and the people they lead are at least as equally important, if not more so. After all, even if you have a good leader in place, what good is it if state laws and local union agreements make it impossible for that leader to hold officers accountable for acts of misconduct?
The results were sort of interesting.
First, just looking at overall misconduct per capita rates the results appear to indicate that agencies with elected leaders have less misconduct. Our 2009 Annual Report indicated that the national police misconduct rate was a projected 980.64 officers per 100,000. When we segment that into local Police Departments and Sheriff’s Offices we find that Police departments where leaders are appointed had a misconduct rate of 990.09 per 100,000 while Sheriffs offices where leaders are elected had a misconduct rate of 644.14 per 100,000.
Our 2010 data is somewhat similar in the breakdown. While the overall misconduct rate was 977.98 per 100,000, police departments had a misconduct rate of 1082.04 per 100,000 and sheriff’s agencies had a misconduct rate of 706.74 per 100,000.
So, it would seem that elected officials do better than appointed officials. However, when we look at the number of agencies and leaders implicated in misconduct we see something different.
In 2009 our data indicated that 10.8% of police agencies had officers involved in police misconduct while 7.8% of sheriff’s departments had officers implicated in acts of misconduct. But, in 2010 14% of police agencies had officers implicated in misconduct and 18% of sheriff’s departments had officers implicated in misconduct. Additionally, in 2010, 2.5% of police chiefs were implicated in acts of misconduct while 3.5% of sheriffs were implicated in misconduct. So, when we examine the numbers by agency the picture is a bit more muddled.
However, I personally think that, more importantly than how law enforcement leaders are selected, the laws and policies that govern those leaders and the people they lead are at least as equally important, if not more so. After all, even if you have a good leader in place, what good is it if state laws and local union agreements make it impossible for that leader to hold officers accountable for acts of misconduct?
Idiots at work
- A number of Longueuil QC cops are being investigated for alleged excessive force against a 57yr-old woman who was thrown to ground at a fireworks show. [0] http://ow.ly/1viQQw
- Los Angeles Co CA settles suit for $650k to a man claiming police beat him at a traffic stop and a woman who was punched when she begged the cops to stop [3] http://ow.ly/1vi48S
- Hackensack NJ police union pres suspended & arrested for allegedly hitting a suspect in the head during questioning [0] http://ow.ly/1viQsa
- Kingsport TN cop resigned after arrested in connection w/massive child sexual abuse network that created child porn [0] http://ow.ly/1virAn
- Tucson AZ police lt suspended since June while investigated for chats describing fantasies of molesting young boys [2] http://ow.ly/1vikKc
- Crisp Co GA deputy arrested for attempted child molestation for arranging meeting w/15yr-old on internet in sting op [0] http://ow.ly/1vijLi
- Birmingham MI police account of why they shot dog to death contradicted by witnesses saying it wasn’t aggressive [3] http://ow.ly/1vifBV
- Lawrence MA cop’s home raided by FBI in unspecified investigation possibly part of corruption case against mayor [3] http://ow.ly/1vjs5o
- Miami Beach FL police IA officer & Tempe AZ cop named in suit alleging Shaquille O’Neal tried to frame biz partner [3] http://ow.ly/1vjhOv
- Midland MI cop pleads guilty to receiving stolen property for keeping flat screen TV stolen from a Rent A Center [0] http://ow.ly/1viqnB
- Zionsville IN police chief resigns while investigated for allegedly threatening his officers w/gun & evidence theft [0] http://ow.ly/1vipUX
- 5 Zionsville IN cops disciplined for failing to report misconduct by police chief who resigned over evidence thefts [0] http://ow.ly/1vjxXa
- Apple Creek OH police chief resigns after suspended & charged w/theft in office for stealing evidence & selling it [1] http://ow.ly/1vilrh
- Hesperia CA USD Police chief suspended after officers’ lawyer issues cease & desist alleging retaliation/harassment [1] http://ow.ly/1vipHc
- Seabrook NH cop accused of going on tirade about how he wouldn’t arrest a cop and threatened the officers who arrested him on drunk driving and hit & run charges. [0] http://ow.ly/1vigOq
- Freeport MI police chief faces “super drunk” driving charges after stopped w/BAC 2x legal limit [0] http://ow.ly/1vjgUn
- North Bay ON cop arrested on drunk driving charges after refusing breath test during routine traffic stop [0] http://ow.ly/1viVSP
- Montgomery Co MD police rebuked by judge over overly aggressive interrogation practices & failure to mirandize [0] http://ow.ly/1vgUpZ
- Benton Harbor MI police accused of tasering man after he was cuffed after allegedly mistaking him for drug dealer [1] http://ow.ly/1vgUpA
- RCMP sued by family of man shot to death in bdrm last yr by cops responding to dispute, RCMP refuses to release info [4] http://ow.ly/1vgLxy
- San Antonio TX police sued by family of man who died in custody, claim police won’t release information [3] http://ow.ly/1vgUmh
- Fullerton CA police accused of being abusive towards homeless in wake of criticism over homeless man’s beating death [3] http://ow.ly/1vgUiM
- 2 Boynton Beach FL cops arrested on falsifying report charges for allegedly lying about drug bust at motel [0] http://ow.ly/1vg6G2
- West Reading PA police sgt who is taser trainer arrested over videos showing him tasering several people for fun [0] http://ow.ly/1vg4rw
- Winn Parish LA sheriff indicted on federal distribution of methamphetamine charges along with 10 other people [0] http://ow.ly/1vgB4l
- Hoffman Estates IL cop on leave while subject of unspecified investigation involving work on auto theft task force [3] http://ow.ly/1vg3pS
- Woburn MA cop arrested on assault & battery charge on allegations he punched woman in face during argument at bar [0] http://ow.ly/1vg39O
- Oxnard CA cop assigned as school resource officer arrested on domestic violence charge involving unspecified woman [1] http://ow.ly/1vgUv4
- Roosevelt Co MT sheriff arrested on assault charges for allegedly throwing man through window in off duty bar fight [0] http://ow.ly/1vgm7U
- US Park Police accused of cracking down on drivers who stop to let pedestrians cross streets in response to accidents[0] http://ow.ly/1vg6Wf
- Manhattan Beach CA cop sentenced to probation in plea to hit & run accident, was fired after incident [0] http://ow.ly/1vgJgs
- NM state trooper arrested for resisting, refused to leave hotel while drunk, arrested in June for DUI w/kid in car [0] http://ow.ly/1vgUqC
- Miami Beach FL settles suit for $75k to gay man claiming cops uttered homophobic slurs as they beat him then arrested him for calling 911 to report seeing the officers kick a man in the head. [0] http://ow.ly/1veMK8
- Maricopa County AZ is being sued by 4 people arrested at a protest including a protester claiming deputies repeatedly kicked him after he was cuffed, a protester claiming she was denied treatment, and two legal observers claiming they were falsely arrested and detained longer than they should have been. [3] http://ow.ly/1veQga
- Syracuse NY cop investigated after video apparently shows him ram a handcuffed man’s head into cruiser for “mouthing off” [3] http://ow.ly/1vdTXr
- Desert Hot Springs CA cop sentenced to $3000 fine & probation on civil rights charge for tasering a cuffed suspect [0] http://ow.ly/1vebdM
- Corona CA police sued by ex-cop claiming she suffered retaliation for reporting misconduct by a gang unit leader [4] http://ow.ly/1vdBYr
- Philadelphia PA police accused of covering up cop’s federal firearms crime because of his high-rank relatives [4] http://ow.ly/1ve52i
- Muhlenberg PA cop suspended after arrested on allegations he put pistol in wife’s mouth & threatened to kill her [0] http://ow.ly/1veX7m
- Washington DC cop pleads guilty to stealing over $40k from 85yr-old woman she was assigned to help [0] http://ow.ly/1veevS
- Arizona DPS officer arrested on sexual abuse charge after allegedly groping a woman at a bar [0] http://ow.ly/1veboN
- New Orleans LA cop suspended after arrested along w/girlfriend on domestic battery charges after altercation [0] http://ow.ly/1vdXmT
- Prince George’s Co MD off-duty cops working security for party investigated for turning away EMTs after drowning [0] http://ow.ly/1veF6G
- Boynton Beach FL cop suspended after arrested for suspected drunk driving after crashing car into gate & flipping it [0] http://ow.ly/1veu7v
- Oak Hill FL disbands police department over issues that included allegations cops planted pot plants on mayor’s land [3] http://ow.ly/1veFXn
- Port Townsend WA police accused of excessive force on man who didn’t show ID during DUI stop, was a passenger [3] http://ow.ly/1vbBVs
- US DEA agents accused of throwing innocent veteran to the ground during wrong door raid, DEA denies allegations [3] http://ow.ly/1vceaZ
- Houston TX police say lights & sirens aren’t required when speeding to calls after speeding cop strikes pedestrian [0] http://ow.ly/1vbFs2
- Tulsa OK cops in corruption case sued by man freed after 2yrs into life sentence after drug informant admitted lying [0] http://ow.ly/1v9t4G
- Suffolk Co NY cop arrests news cameraman for obstruction as he films chase scene from public sidewalk a block away [3] http://ow.ly/1va8uo
- Glassboro NJ cop subject of brutality suit by woman alleging she was arrested for saying she was filing complaint [3] http://ow.ly/1v9Kr4
- Michigan Supreme Court endangers civil rights act by deciding sheriff not liable for deputy raping a female detainee [0] http://ow.ly/1v9u8o
- Shreveport LA cop in suit alleging he punched woman is fired for alleged unrelated violations of dept policies [2] http://ow.ly/1v9qfd
- Dallas TX police officer arrested on domestic violence assault charges
in unspecified incidentand unlawful restraint after allegedly pushing woman to the ground then cuffing her & threatening her with jail time after arguing with her about an ex-girlfriend. [1] http://ow.ly/1vcdIj
- Clark Co IN sheriff’s lt col arrested on misd domestic battery charges after wife reported incident to state police [0] http://ow.ly/1vcmIx
- Albuquerque NM cop arrested on DUI & criminal damage charges after showing up to ex-husband’s home drunk & angry [0] http://ow.ly/1vcGJ0
A Badge on his Behind: Police Capt. Dawson Pervert commands Silly District Station.
....Or Honor and the Fourth Estate
While attending Groveton High in Alexandria, Purvis Dawson wanted to someday be a Navy pilot or a police officer. He didn’t care, as long as it was a government gig with a steady page check and early retirement. And both jobs would have him surrounded by men……there’s nothing wrong with that. Its not unnatural or anything.
That was three months ago…… He’s now a captain and, since mid-April, he’s been the commander of the Silly District Police Station.
"In 3 months, I’ve seen it all," he said. "Well, maybe not all…you know…actually I haven’t seen much, come to think of it…..anyway….after coming here, I met with all the shifts and every specialty within the station and told them I believe I’ve been entrusted to lead it. And when something is entrusted to you, you entrust it back because love means never having to say ….uh….where was I? ……anyway…..I said “Men…I’m pretty sure they were all men…I said if you ever need a hug, if you ever need a massage….I’m you’re guy”
Pervert replaced Capt. John Peepee, who’s now commanding the Criminal Intelligence Oh God the Crooks are Smarter than us Division of the Criminal Investigations Bureau.
"I was a lieutenant with Tech Services and was the project manager for this building being built," said Dawson. "When they broke ground, I had moved into the basement and I’ve been living there ever since…..So this is like coming home for me, and I’m happy to be here…..because it’s like home "
Born in a log cabin in Fairfax County and raised in Mount Vernon, he once threw a coin across the Potomac…….Oaky, that last thing isn’t true…but he was president of his graduating class at the Criminal Justice Academy. Of course, he was the only person in the class “All my friends” Pervert says “Weren’t afraid of life and went out and got real jobs…me? …..naw, its government worker life for me”
He was a patrol officer at the West Springfield Station and, for six days and organized the county’s first Business Watch. “We watch people in business and go “Whew, man I couldn’t keep that pace”
He was also a founding member of the Police Department’s Peer Support Team and served as one of its counselors. "When officers experience a tragic or horrific incident, like hurting his hands when he slaps a cuffed suspect…….sometimes they just need to know someone’s there for them, to listen," he said.
During the past three decades, he worked in communications, field support, the bike team, Helicopter Division, Tank Corp, anti-mine Corp and Fairfax Police Navy.
"One thing that greatly prepared me [to command a district station] was watching lot of television” he said.
In that job, Dawson learned how to let residents and businesses know that the police were adversaries and not a part of the community, since almost every cop on the Fairfax Police Force lives out of the county.
"My bike team experience also embedded me in the community, so people knew they could reach out to me and that gave me the right to shoot them” he said
From 2005-06, he commanded the Helicopter Division based on West Ox Road even though he has never actually been in a copter “I saw Platoon, like, I dunno know, like 50,000 times…so like you learn from that, I thoroughly enjoyed it, seeing policing from a whole, different perspective. From the air, you can look into people’s windows and sometimes like you get to see them naked and then you can arrest them because naked is illegal”
At the Silly District Station, Dawson received a warm welcome. He also praised the "fantastic job" both Peepee and the assistant station commander, Lt. John “Call me Joan” Thrace, have done there.
"This station enjoys widespread, community contempt" he said. "They do their job well, but my goal still is to leave the station worse than I found it because that’s what cops do, we fuck up everything…….if it wasn’t for the media glorifying us, gosh, I just don’t know what we would do”
Noting that this area has a wide variety of businesses, institutions and organizations, Dawson said their safety and quality of life is as important to him so he intends to harrass everyone he sees "it’s incumbent upon me to make sure everybody who works with the police feels comfortable going to and from work. So officers will patrol the shopping areas and confer with security guards. I want to be pro-active, not reactive."
He also stressed the importance of speed-control measures on the Fairfax County Parkway, alcohol checkpoints and the child car-seat checks and anything that infringes on the rights of the average citizen “We have like way too many guys on the force, like way too much money…$200,000,000 in fact and so like we don’t have enough to do so we screw with people and pretend we’re really trying to prevent fatalities and serious injuries, crap like that….And if there’s something we’re doing or not doing, we want people to tell us so we can examine them with our night sticks”
“I just want to say that if it weren’t for soft ball pieces like this and the ability and willingness of journalists, the eyes and voice of the people, the first line of defense of democracy, those of the Fourth Estate who for so long has been the ideal of the opposed world, those craftsmen of the First Amendment, that lofty principle for whom hundreds of thousands have willing given their lives to defend, if those guys, those journalists weren’t so willing to sell out their principles and ideals and hop into bed with the government they are supposed to temper, well gosh, we wouldn’t get away with half the crap we do”
Fairfax County Police introduce moble TV to watch while on duty
Yeah TV on the job ....what are you gonna do about?
Noth'n, so shut up
Ashley’s Law: The rest of the story
Ashley’s Law: The rest of the story
Cindy Colasanto was on vacation in Florida in February 2008 when she got the phone call every parent dreads: Your daughter’s been in an accident, get here quickly. But there was an ice storm in Northern Virginia, where her daughter Ashley McIntosh had been critically injured in a car crash with a Fairfax County police officer, and it wasn’t until the next day — hours of agony later — that Colasanto made it to Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Cindy Colasanto, whose daughter Ashley McIntosh was killed by a police car running without a siren, endured a roller coaster of emotions since the February 2008 accident. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) Doctors kept Ashley alive just long enough for her mother to see her one last time. And then, at 33, engaged to be married, Ashley died. And Cindy’s voyage, along with her ex-husband John McIntosh and her daughter Meredith Heller, was just beginning.
For the next three years, I had a front row seat as the McIntosh-Colasanto clan plunged ever deeper into the emotional abyss of losing a child. Then, somehow, a light. Cindy Colasanto launched an improbable, impossible campaign to change Virginia law. She struggled. She lost. She struggled some more.
And finally, on Tuesday, she won. Gov. Bob McDonnell came to Mount Vernon, where both he and Ashley (and Colasanto) grew up, and signed the bill changing the way emergency responders drive through red light intersections.
It was an amazing ride. Here is a taste of their frustrations, their pain, and their triumphs from Feb. 12, 2008 to July 26, 2011, when “Ashley’s Law” was signed by the governor.
And here is Cindy Colasanto after Tuesday’s bill signing:
Feb. 13, 2008: Ashley, a kindergarten teacher’s assistant at Clermont Elementary School, dies. She is well known in the Mount Vernon area as an athlete and referee. Her father ran the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association for many years. More than 700 people attend her funeral. Police Chief David Rohrer calls the family and offers his condolences.
Ashley’s parents, Cindy Colasanto and John McIntosh, speak publicly for the first time in March 2008. (Jahi Chikwendiu - TWP) March 2008: I meet Ashley’s family for the first time. Colasanto is suspicious of reporters, but agrees to meet. Because the family has hired a lawyer, the Fairfax police have stopped releasing any information about the circumstances of the crash to the Colasantos and McIntoshes. The 22-year-old officer’s name is kept secret. Witnesses tell me they saw the officer tearing up Route 1 with her red lights on, but no siren. The family is devastated, confused by the police silence, unsure of what’s next.
April 2008: Ashley’s family and friends launch a petition, seeking charges against the officer. Colasanto meets with Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh, who is still gathering information. Colasanto is not convinced that Morrogh will seek justice for Ashley, and she is miserable.
May 2008: Morrogh watches the in-car video from Officer Amanda Perry, showing that she did not have her siren on and that she did not hit the brakes before entering the Boswell Road intersection on a red light. He watches it repeatedly. With the public calling for charges, police officers lean on Morrogh to clear Perry of any charges.
Morrogh charges Perry with reckless driving, angering the police. It also angers Ashley’s family, who wanted a manslaughter charge. Morrogh said manslaughter requires more than just negligence, such as drinking alcohol or utter disregard for others. The police officers’ union issues a statement denouncing the charge.
The charge is a misdemeanor. Inexplicably, all of the judges in Fairfax’s general district court — no pushovers for the prosecution — promptly recuse themselves from the case, saying they wanted the public to believe the case was tried impartially.
The case is assigned to a Stafford County judge, Sarah Deneke, who is a former prosecutor.
September 2008: The case goes to trial, and Officer Perry’s in-car video is played publicly for the first time. A packed courtroom gasps at the moment of impact. Colasanto and Heller, Ashley’s sister, are in the front row. It is painful to see them to watch their loved one violently killed.
Perry testifies, weeping at times. The tape shows her zooming up Route 1, and indicators on the screen show her siren wasn’t activated. Perry said she reached down for the controls but fumbled with them and “it did not come on.”
As Perry continues on Route 1, at speeds estimated between 38 and 44 mph, a line of virtually all sport-utility vehicles is in the left turn lane to enter Mount Vernon Plaza. The line of SUVs blocks Perry’s view of the cars emerging from the shopping center, though Perry said she was constantly scanning both sides and “my perception was the intersection was clear, so I could proceed through.”
The tape shows the light at Boswell Road was red for about five seconds before the crash, but Perry does not brake as she goes under the red light. McIntosh’s Toyota Corolla, in the left turn lane to go north on Route 1, appears to be trying to zip straight across Route 1, which would take her to her home in Fort Hunt. The collision is played and replayed. The tape does not show McIntosh being ejected from the spinning car (she did not have seat belt on).
Deneke finds Officer Perry not guilty of reckless driving. “I don’t find the evidence rises to a level that this driving was reckless,” the judge rules, but offers no further explanation..
This is the utter bottom for Colasanto, yet another crushing blow. Her daughter is killed. The other driver is charged with a misdemeanor. The other driver is acquitted. She and Heller stagger out of the courthouse, and Colasanto tells the TV cameras, “It’s beyond any understanding I have.”
Colasanto adds that she will push for legislation requiring emergency vehicles to slow down when entering intersections. Meanwhile, the police union installs Perry on its executive board, though she remains on administrative duties and has been an officer for only two years.
November 2008: Colasanto keeps her word and begins pushing for a new law on emergency response vehicles, though she has no experience whatsoever with the political process. She launches an online petition and gathers 2,300 signatures. She meets with her state senator, Toddy Puller, and various delegates. The response is not encouraging, but Puller and Del. David Englin agree to sponsor a bill in the 2009 session.
January 2009: Colasanto makes the rounds of legislators’ offices, getting some positive response, from some, utter disdain from others.It is a new experience, waiting in hallways to speak with an aide or a key member of a committee. The bill to rewrite the law is, unencouragingly, assigned to the transportation committee instead of the courts and justice committee, where it meets unified opposition from the police and sheriffs associations. Colasanto speaks before the committee, though she hates public speaking, and then again before the Virginia State Crime Commission. The bill’s chances seem bleak.
Puller suggests holding off for this year, sending the bill to the crime commission for study, and trying again in 2011. “2011?” I say incredulously. “2011?” It seems a long ways off, but Colasanto is not discouraged, somehow.
March 2009: Ashley’s family has filed a civil lawsuit against Officer Perry, and pretrial depositions are underway. Then I learn, and report, that Perry has been forced to resign because she allegedly was falsifying her time and attendance reports, reportedly spending time in the police union offices instead of her administrative job. She is booted off the union’s executive board.
August 2009: A pretrial hearing in the civil suit, to determine if Perry’s driving actions are entitled to “sovereign immunity,” as a government employee acting in the course of her duties. We learn that the initial call of a fight in progress was promptly downgraded to an apprehended shoplifter, but Perry didn’t see the downgrade on her in-car computer.
Virginia law grants police an exemption from obeying traffic laws when responding to an emergency. But Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney said this was no emergency. He rules Perry is not entitled to immunity, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers need only prove simple negligence.
It is a giant ruling for Ashley’s family. “Obviously I’m happy,” Colasanto said, “and if there is any justice, this is a step in the right direction.”
January 2010: Fairfax County agrees to settle the lawsuit and pay Ashley’s family $1.5 million. The resolution of the case clears the way for the General Assembly to reconsider the proposed change in the law, though the law enforcement groups still oppose it.
But the bill is again not on the table, in part because the lawsuit wasn’t settled until the legislative session is well underway. The idea of having the crime commission study the bill, and how emergency responders are regulated in other states, results in a formal study headed by former Virginia State Police superintendent W. Gerald Massengill.
Meanwhile, a friend of Colasanto’s husband, Tony Colasanto, connects her with the lobbying arm of the law firm McGuire Woods. The McGuire Woods Consulting group in Richmond agrees to take on the issue for free, and lobbyists Mark Hubbard, Mark Bowles and Tyler Bishop begin helping her work the legislature.
Throughout 2010, Colasanto ramps up her grass roots campaign. She distributes fact sheets and a video of her daughter’s crash to all 140 legislators. She walks the streets of Mount Vernon, to homes and businesses, gathering petition signatures in support of Ashley’s Law. She launches a letter writing campaign to key legislators, which generates more than 900 letters. She tries to meet with every member of the transportation committee She testifies in front of the crime commission again, telling them, “The goal here should be to prevent other parents from suffering what we have endured as a result of her death.”
November 2010: It worked. Colasanto’s persistence, aided by Puller and Del. David Albo, results in a unanimous recommendation by the crime commission that Ashley’s Law be passed: emergency vehicles must have both their lights and siren on, or else yield to traffic when they have a red light.
“A lot of times with these emotional cases,” Massengill said later, substantial change rarely occurs. “I see this one as a teachable standard that will bring about meaningful safety.”
Colasanto is thrilled, but the votes aren’t in yet. Still, the crime commission’s endorsement is a huge step.
February 2011: Fairfax police endorse the bill, which they say conforms to their own training standards. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police make a last ditch attempt to amend the bill, Colasanto says, but it fails. The bill passes both houses of the General Assembly.
Colasanto is quietly overjoyed. “It was a long journey,” she says, “but in the end, common sense prevailed.”
June 28, 2011: A bill signing is scheduled by Gov. McDonnell for the Sherwood Hall Regional Library in Mount Vernon. But it has to be postponed when a state trooper is killed in a car crash with another vehicle at an intersection, and McDonnell must attend the funeral. State police say the trooper had his emergency lights and siren on.
July 26, 2011: McDonnell signs the bill. A meeting room is packed with friends and family of Ashley, as well as some of her former students and colleagues at Clermont Elementary. It is hot in there, the speech making goes on, the pressure builds, and Colasanto nearly faints. She delivers her remarks sitting down.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Ashley and miss her,” she says. “We all love Ashley and we share in this accomplishment in her memory. On behalf of Ashley, I thank you.”
Afterward, holding a pen handed to her by the governor, she describes the moment as “bittersweet. We had to lose Ashley to make it happen, but we made it happen.”
Then she thanks me, though I did nothing but watch. And she hugs me, which reporters don’t get too often. It was an unforgettable journey.
Gov. Bob McDonnell signs "Ashley's Law," requiring emergency responders to use their flashing lights and siren when entering an intersection, or else yield to traffic. "Ashley"'s mother, Cindy Colasanto, looks on. Behind them are (left to right) Del. David Albo, Del. David Englin, Fairfax police Chief David Rohrer and Fairfax police Lt. Col. Edwin Roessler. (Tom Jackman - The Washington Post)
Cindy Colasanto, whose daughter Ashley McIntosh was killed by a police car running without a siren, endured a roller coaster of emotions since the February 2008 accident. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) Doctors kept Ashley alive just long enough for her mother to see her one last time. And then, at 33, engaged to be married, Ashley died. And Cindy’s voyage, along with her ex-husband John McIntosh and her daughter Meredith Heller, was just beginning.
For the next three years, I had a front row seat as the McIntosh-Colasanto clan plunged ever deeper into the emotional abyss of losing a child. Then, somehow, a light. Cindy Colasanto launched an improbable, impossible campaign to change Virginia law. She struggled. She lost. She struggled some more.
And finally, on Tuesday, she won. Gov. Bob McDonnell came to Mount Vernon, where both he and Ashley (and Colasanto) grew up, and signed the bill changing the way emergency responders drive through red light intersections.
It was an amazing ride. Here is a taste of their frustrations, their pain, and their triumphs from Feb. 12, 2008 to July 26, 2011, when “Ashley’s Law” was signed by the governor.
And here is Cindy Colasanto after Tuesday’s bill signing:
Feb. 13, 2008: Ashley, a kindergarten teacher’s assistant at Clermont Elementary School, dies. She is well known in the Mount Vernon area as an athlete and referee. Her father ran the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association for many years. More than 700 people attend her funeral. Police Chief David Rohrer calls the family and offers his condolences.
Ashley’s parents, Cindy Colasanto and John McIntosh, speak publicly for the first time in March 2008. (Jahi Chikwendiu - TWP) March 2008: I meet Ashley’s family for the first time. Colasanto is suspicious of reporters, but agrees to meet. Because the family has hired a lawyer, the Fairfax police have stopped releasing any information about the circumstances of the crash to the Colasantos and McIntoshes. The 22-year-old officer’s name is kept secret. Witnesses tell me they saw the officer tearing up Route 1 with her red lights on, but no siren. The family is devastated, confused by the police silence, unsure of what’s next.
April 2008: Ashley’s family and friends launch a petition, seeking charges against the officer. Colasanto meets with Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh, who is still gathering information. Colasanto is not convinced that Morrogh will seek justice for Ashley, and she is miserable.
May 2008: Morrogh watches the in-car video from Officer Amanda Perry, showing that she did not have her siren on and that she did not hit the brakes before entering the Boswell Road intersection on a red light. He watches it repeatedly. With the public calling for charges, police officers lean on Morrogh to clear Perry of any charges.
Morrogh charges Perry with reckless driving, angering the police. It also angers Ashley’s family, who wanted a manslaughter charge. Morrogh said manslaughter requires more than just negligence, such as drinking alcohol or utter disregard for others. The police officers’ union issues a statement denouncing the charge.
The charge is a misdemeanor. Inexplicably, all of the judges in Fairfax’s general district court — no pushovers for the prosecution — promptly recuse themselves from the case, saying they wanted the public to believe the case was tried impartially.
The case is assigned to a Stafford County judge, Sarah Deneke, who is a former prosecutor.
September 2008: The case goes to trial, and Officer Perry’s in-car video is played publicly for the first time. A packed courtroom gasps at the moment of impact. Colasanto and Heller, Ashley’s sister, are in the front row. It is painful to see them to watch their loved one violently killed.
Perry testifies, weeping at times. The tape shows her zooming up Route 1, and indicators on the screen show her siren wasn’t activated. Perry said she reached down for the controls but fumbled with them and “it did not come on.”
As Perry continues on Route 1, at speeds estimated between 38 and 44 mph, a line of virtually all sport-utility vehicles is in the left turn lane to enter Mount Vernon Plaza. The line of SUVs blocks Perry’s view of the cars emerging from the shopping center, though Perry said she was constantly scanning both sides and “my perception was the intersection was clear, so I could proceed through.”
The tape shows the light at Boswell Road was red for about five seconds before the crash, but Perry does not brake as she goes under the red light. McIntosh’s Toyota Corolla, in the left turn lane to go north on Route 1, appears to be trying to zip straight across Route 1, which would take her to her home in Fort Hunt. The collision is played and replayed. The tape does not show McIntosh being ejected from the spinning car (she did not have seat belt on).
Deneke finds Officer Perry not guilty of reckless driving. “I don’t find the evidence rises to a level that this driving was reckless,” the judge rules, but offers no further explanation..
This is the utter bottom for Colasanto, yet another crushing blow. Her daughter is killed. The other driver is charged with a misdemeanor. The other driver is acquitted. She and Heller stagger out of the courthouse, and Colasanto tells the TV cameras, “It’s beyond any understanding I have.”
Colasanto adds that she will push for legislation requiring emergency vehicles to slow down when entering intersections. Meanwhile, the police union installs Perry on its executive board, though she remains on administrative duties and has been an officer for only two years.
November 2008: Colasanto keeps her word and begins pushing for a new law on emergency response vehicles, though she has no experience whatsoever with the political process. She launches an online petition and gathers 2,300 signatures. She meets with her state senator, Toddy Puller, and various delegates. The response is not encouraging, but Puller and Del. David Englin agree to sponsor a bill in the 2009 session.
January 2009: Colasanto makes the rounds of legislators’ offices, getting some positive response, from some, utter disdain from others.It is a new experience, waiting in hallways to speak with an aide or a key member of a committee. The bill to rewrite the law is, unencouragingly, assigned to the transportation committee instead of the courts and justice committee, where it meets unified opposition from the police and sheriffs associations. Colasanto speaks before the committee, though she hates public speaking, and then again before the Virginia State Crime Commission. The bill’s chances seem bleak.
Puller suggests holding off for this year, sending the bill to the crime commission for study, and trying again in 2011. “2011?” I say incredulously. “2011?” It seems a long ways off, but Colasanto is not discouraged, somehow.
March 2009: Ashley’s family has filed a civil lawsuit against Officer Perry, and pretrial depositions are underway. Then I learn, and report, that Perry has been forced to resign because she allegedly was falsifying her time and attendance reports, reportedly spending time in the police union offices instead of her administrative job. She is booted off the union’s executive board.
August 2009: A pretrial hearing in the civil suit, to determine if Perry’s driving actions are entitled to “sovereign immunity,” as a government employee acting in the course of her duties. We learn that the initial call of a fight in progress was promptly downgraded to an apprehended shoplifter, but Perry didn’t see the downgrade on her in-car computer.
Virginia law grants police an exemption from obeying traffic laws when responding to an emergency. But Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney said this was no emergency. He rules Perry is not entitled to immunity, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers need only prove simple negligence.
It is a giant ruling for Ashley’s family. “Obviously I’m happy,” Colasanto said, “and if there is any justice, this is a step in the right direction.”
January 2010: Fairfax County agrees to settle the lawsuit and pay Ashley’s family $1.5 million. The resolution of the case clears the way for the General Assembly to reconsider the proposed change in the law, though the law enforcement groups still oppose it.
But the bill is again not on the table, in part because the lawsuit wasn’t settled until the legislative session is well underway. The idea of having the crime commission study the bill, and how emergency responders are regulated in other states, results in a formal study headed by former Virginia State Police superintendent W. Gerald Massengill.
Meanwhile, a friend of Colasanto’s husband, Tony Colasanto, connects her with the lobbying arm of the law firm McGuire Woods. The McGuire Woods Consulting group in Richmond agrees to take on the issue for free, and lobbyists Mark Hubbard, Mark Bowles and Tyler Bishop begin helping her work the legislature.
Throughout 2010, Colasanto ramps up her grass roots campaign. She distributes fact sheets and a video of her daughter’s crash to all 140 legislators. She walks the streets of Mount Vernon, to homes and businesses, gathering petition signatures in support of Ashley’s Law. She launches a letter writing campaign to key legislators, which generates more than 900 letters. She tries to meet with every member of the transportation committee She testifies in front of the crime commission again, telling them, “The goal here should be to prevent other parents from suffering what we have endured as a result of her death.”
November 2010: It worked. Colasanto’s persistence, aided by Puller and Del. David Albo, results in a unanimous recommendation by the crime commission that Ashley’s Law be passed: emergency vehicles must have both their lights and siren on, or else yield to traffic when they have a red light.
“A lot of times with these emotional cases,” Massengill said later, substantial change rarely occurs. “I see this one as a teachable standard that will bring about meaningful safety.”
Colasanto is thrilled, but the votes aren’t in yet. Still, the crime commission’s endorsement is a huge step.
February 2011: Fairfax police endorse the bill, which they say conforms to their own training standards. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police make a last ditch attempt to amend the bill, Colasanto says, but it fails. The bill passes both houses of the General Assembly.
Colasanto is quietly overjoyed. “It was a long journey,” she says, “but in the end, common sense prevailed.”
June 28, 2011: A bill signing is scheduled by Gov. McDonnell for the Sherwood Hall Regional Library in Mount Vernon. But it has to be postponed when a state trooper is killed in a car crash with another vehicle at an intersection, and McDonnell must attend the funeral. State police say the trooper had his emergency lights and siren on.
July 26, 2011: McDonnell signs the bill. A meeting room is packed with friends and family of Ashley, as well as some of her former students and colleagues at Clermont Elementary. It is hot in there, the speech making goes on, the pressure builds, and Colasanto nearly faints. She delivers her remarks sitting down.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Ashley and miss her,” she says. “We all love Ashley and we share in this accomplishment in her memory. On behalf of Ashley, I thank you.”
Afterward, holding a pen handed to her by the governor, she describes the moment as “bittersweet. We had to lose Ashley to make it happen, but we made it happen.”
Then she thanks me, though I did nothing but watch. And she hugs me, which reporters don’t get too often. It was an unforgettable journey.
Gov. Bob McDonnell signs "Ashley's Law," requiring emergency responders to use their flashing lights and siren when entering an intersection, or else yield to traffic. "Ashley"'s mother, Cindy Colasanto, looks on. Behind them are (left to right) Del. David Albo, Del. David Englin, Fairfax police Chief David Rohrer and Fairfax police Lt. Col. Edwin Roessler. (Tom Jackman - The Washington Post)
By | 12:12 PM ET, 07/27/2011
Fairfax County Police introduce new plan to deal with the mentally unstable: Have two cops commit the murder instead of one.
“I came up with the plan” boasted Fairfax County’s height challenged Police Chief What’s it Roareer “I figured it would be easier get away with a shooting party that way. More importantly I would like to point out that I do not look like the Gay Guy from the Village People with the leather hat”
“I think it’s important, significant and imperative ….that’s all the words my dinosaurus had…..that force must be a constant for controlling and arresting all persons, especially the mentally ill because they are….well…..crazy” said the chief. “So I resent the impla…impala…no, un…im-pla…...I resent the way you news people say that my department does not have a training course for dealing with the emotionally disturbed and mentally-ill persons in the context of use of force….we do….we kill them. It may not be plans your like, but it’s a plan”
“I would also like to point out, very pointedly” the chief insisted on saying “ that we do have policies related to civil commitments and dealing with the mentally ill, however, as we have made clear, we have no intention of actually conducting training related to these policies, or to train on tactics and use of force in the context of the emotionally disturbed and the mentally ill.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) implemented a model policy on “Dealing with the Mentally Ill in 1997. The policy asserts:
The policy also provides a number of suggested tactics when dealing with the mentally ill:
Should the officer determine that an individual may be mentally ill and a potential threat to himself, the officer, or others, or may otherwise require law enforcement intervention for humanitarian reasons as prescribed by statute, the following responses may be taken.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Request a backup officer, and always do so in cases where the individual will be taken into custody.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Take steps to calm the situation. Where possible, eliminate emergency lights and sirens, disperse crowds, and assume a quiet non-threatening manner when approaching or conversing with the individual. Where violence or destructive acts have not occurred, avoid physical contact, and take time to assess the situation.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Move slowly and do not excite the disturbed person. Provide reassurance that the police are there to help and that he will be provided with appropriate care.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Communicate with the individual in an attempt to determine what is bothering him. Relate your concern for his feelings and allow him to ventilate his feelings. Where possible, gather information on the subject from acquaintances or family members and/or request professional assistance if available and appropriate to assist in communicating with and calming the person.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Do not threaten the individual with arrest or in any other manner as this will create additional fright, stress, and potential aggression.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Avoid topics that may agitate the person and guide the conversation toward subjects that help bring the individual back to reality.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
Always attempt to be truthful with a mentally ill individual. If the subject becomes aware of a deception, he may withdraw from the contact in distrust and may become hypersensitive or retaliate in anger.
Fairfax County Policy: Shoot the bastard
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