So that you will respect us more, we now insist on being anonymous: the Virginia Senate has approved legislation exempting the names of police officers from disclosure under the state public records law. Sponsor Sen. John A. Cosgrove Jr. (R-Chesapeake), noting “that he knew many police officers and their families — said: ‘The culture is not one of respect for law enforcement anymore. It’s really, “How, how can we get these guys? What can we do?” … Police officers are much more in jeopardy.’ … Although other states have made moves to shield the identities of some officers, none would go as far as the proposal in Virginia.” A spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police union, defending the bill, said that it “is not about trying to keep information from the public, to have secret police.” The immediate controversy that prompted the bill arose when the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Hampton Roads filed a request for information on police employment, following up on tips that officers fired from one department would find work at another. [Washington Post]
Insta-update: Panel in Virginia House unanimously votes to kill the bill [WAMU, thanks commenter Matthew S.]
2 Comments
https://wamu.org/news/16/02/26/effort_to_keep_virginia_police_names_secret_fails_in_house_of_delegates_panel
You’re slow. The Virgina House has already killed that bill.
It may be over there, but will be back somewhere else. Each failure is a lesson learned until they successfully learn how to pass such bills.
When the police say it is not about secrecy, then it is about secrecy.
When they worry that there is not a culture of respect for law enforcement, they blame those whose respect they have lost.
Police are under scrutiny from the public only when they attract such scrutiny.