TheAgitator.com
Trust Us: You Can Trust Us
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010My crime column this week is a follow-up on Northern Virginia’s extremely secretive police agencies. There’s a law in the state legislature that would require them to be marginally more forthcoming. Naturally, law enforcement officials across the state are fighting to defeat it.
“Last time I checked there were multiple safeguards in place to assure the integrity of the criminal justice system,” Sengel wrote. “Conscientious and dedicated judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and law enforcement officers work in a system which is as transparent as it needs to be…The sacred ‘right of the public to know’ is still (barely) governed by standards of reasonableness and civility.”
You mean multiple safeguards like the kind they have down in North Carolina? I feel better already.
Only spooky ultra-secretive VA police could have me rooting for
a batty paranoid housewife who follows cops around
and photographs them surreptitiously .
http://iheartejade.blogspot.com/
(Looks like they just shook her down again)
I wonder if that Iheartjade chick ever wrote her congressman or the local media? I mean, there’s got to be someone who cares huh?
“Naturally…”
How sad is that.
Sick Mothers Against Secretive Police on them.
Why would police demand secrecy? Aren’t they public servants working for us? Other than privacy concerns for persons being investigated/informants or for on going investigations (so as not to compromise them) shouldn’t these records be readily available to all?
Hmmmm. Denying free speech to some becomes denying free speech to us all. North! To Alaska! There is no free speech there either.
These people hang themselves with their own comments.
“I am in the corner of trusting our police department,” said Arlington County Board Member Barbara Favola.
There is no way to explain to the outside world that this is how it has been done in Virginia since my granddaddy. Virginia invented “The good ole boy” system of regulation and control. I’m sure everyone is familiar with its various manifestations; The U.S Senate, the U.S. Military, CIA, ICE, Big Oil, Wall Street. All are examples of organizations which monitor their own behavior through secretive mechanisms, like shaman shit. If Virginia were a little southwest of here, it would be called Arizona.
Heh. Could make for some interesting conversations.
Cop: Sir, could you tell me your name.
You: I’m sorry, you’ll need to submit a FOIA request for that information.
“We behave correctly 100% of the time, our record is flawless. That is why it is absolutely imperative that our actions be hidden from public eyes.”
Northern Virginia police — when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I still maintain that the more proximal a police department is to a federal power center, the more tyrannical it is.
Want greater freedom? Live as far from a federal power center as possible. Anything else is pissing in the wind.
Yizmo Gizmo:
Why are you of the opinion that I’m batty or paranoid — or even a housewife, for that matter?
JS:
“My” congressman and local media ’round these parts lick the derrieres of Law Enforcement. The only reason I’d write them would be to see how fast they’d make it illegal to use my brand of pen and what unflattering picture the press published of me to accompany their coverage of the new statute.
Cynical “Want greater freedom? Live as far from a federal power center as possible. Anything else is pissing in the wind.”
I agree. But I don’t think it really applies here in America. If you really want freedom you’d probably have to emigrate although I’m, not exactly sure where to. Most countries I’ve been in have more freedom than the US.
Not to quibble, JS, but I didn’t specify living in America. In fact, I mostly agree with you too about living abroad, though I think there are little cloisters of freedom still to be found in America too — mountains and deserts and such.
I hope there are. I don’t know. Here in Texas there’s not, at least anywhere I know of.
Okay, Ms. Jadeheart…I’ll retract the word “paranoid.” And “Housewife.”
Now go get ‘em.
Having had some experience with certain regional drug task forces in Virginia, I am paranoid and a little batty. I also have a lot of respect for the efforts of I HeArTE JADE. These organizations make full use of secrecy while using intimidating and illegal tactics. For what other reason would police need military weapons to confiscate marijuana crops?
“Witnesses in the western part of the county say there were many Virginia State Police troopers canvasing the area, carrying what looked like military guns.”
http://iheartejade.blogspot.com/
I believe JADE was founded back in the early 90′s by Chip Harding who is now a neighbor of mine and currently the county sheriff. He is a decent fellow and does a lot of work these days with the innocence project which I would say is unusual for a LEO.
Back in the day I had friends on the wrong end of a SWAT style raid from JADE. The knocked the front and back doors off of their hinges with battering rams even though both doors were unlocked at the time.
Kinda related to the subject in the article above and “new professionalism”
Not sure how many here are aviation fans or pilots but here’s what happened to a pair of very well known aviation supporters:
http://www.aero-news.net/news/genav.cfm?ContentBlockID=e882084d-f2f9-473b-88ee-8bbb756a7d3a&Dynamic=1
In short they were held at gunpoint by police officers due to outdated information showing the aircraft they were flying was stolen. Turns out the N-number (kinds like a licenseplate for aircraft) was reused on their aircraft. Of course nobody bothered to check it out before staging the armed takedown.