Police return to Ryan Frederick house for measurements, photos

How can you say the kid didn't screw up? He shot a cop to death! He panicked and shot recklessly. Did the police make mistakes here? Yes, they probably did. But the kid was breaking the law (which is screwing up) and he shot blindly and killed someone (which is screwing up big time).

Criticize the police if you see fit, but stop giving this guy a free ride. His recklessness killed someone.

This is a public forum. It is much like gatherings at diners, barbershops, fenceposts and hardware stores where people mingle and express their opinions. Conversations contain fact, hearsay, gossip and sometimes plain fiction but most important it contains Public opinion. By the looks of public opinion in this forum whether Ryan Frederick is guilty or not it is obvious that the majority of people are tired of outdated laws, harrassment and superfluous procedure. May the people in the land who look for votes to keep their jobs pay attention to the masses.

"The police and the defense are not and should not be required to answer to the court of public opinion."

While courts have acted in different ways, the process is supposed to be transparent. The constitution provides for this. Price, you should remember, the only thing that renders the police and the system they support to be effective, is the citizens belief in the system. Without the trust and belief of the people, the police are no more than an outnumbered group of people w/ guns and radios. If the people no longer believe in the rights afforded to them, the job of law enforcement will be much more difficult to achieve. While I disagree with the methods, you can look no farther than uncontrolable riots our country has experienced in the past. Wrong or right, the police had no defense when the people turned their backs on their authority. You might want to remember that.

The CPD messed up this whole thing.

Anybody with a set of eyes and ears knows it.

This kid didn’t screw up, the CPD did and they know it.

I would like to know who this “informant” is.
What judge signed the warrant that allowed this to happen?
Why didn't the CPD simply arrest this kid as he was leaving for work (Hint, it’s called a stake out people.)?
Why did the CPD screw up this badly??

Jeez, two people’s lives are over because of three joints! If they had seen my dorm room in college, my roommates and I would have been given life without parole!

The police and the defense are not and should not be required to answer to the court of public opinion. If you release everything to the general public then you have just increased the chances of having a "tainted" jury pool. When I say "tainted", I mean peope have formed their opinions based upon media reports not based upon the evidence. I know people will cry cover up. Honestly,do you know how hard it is to get a group of people to lie and stick to the same story. The Gov of New York could not even keep one lie to himself. In the end, I still think there will be an outside investigation. Wait, didn't the Chesapeake City Manager already start that process? I can say this, if I get picked for this jury I can listen with an open mind. I am off to Bad Ass Coffee.

If the CPD is solely interested in an honest verdict, what purpose is served by withholding the truth from the public until it is dragged out of them at the trial?

In a civil damage case, there might be some justification for selectively withholding information in order to have ones' side seen in the best possible light, but this is a criminal matter.

The only plausible reason for concealing the truth in a criminal case is that they hope some of the truth will not get admitted at trial and the jury will act on something less than the full truth. That is unacceptable in a fee society. Even though one of their own has died in this tragedy, the police should not have an interest in convicting anyone unjustly. If Det. Shivers death turns out to have been a result of bad judgment on his part, or that of his superiors, it is best that it be admitted early and corrective actions taken on the lessons learned.

I agree the issues are not the drug laws, the police have to enforce and work with the laws provided by the Commonwealth.
The police polices are open to the public. There should be and will be a review of all the events that took place prior and during the Fredrick search warrant, including the death of Det. Shivers.
What bugs me is that people think they are entitled to all the inforamtion in this case ASAP and it should be made public under some FOIA ruling. Then why have a trial, the court of public opinion is powerful, but history has proved the public can be mislead. People have asked for an outside investigation, make it happen, but if the results are not what you want, do not cry cover up.

The real issue is not our drug laws, the police are charged with enforcing the laws as they are, not as they think they should be.

The issue that should concern the public most is the policies of the Chesapeake Police Department both before and after the death of Det. Shivers. And therein lies the problem, the CPD has drawn a veil of secrecy over their policies and the facts of the incident. We don't have secret police in America, police are supposed to be subject to public oversight. The secrecy and obfuscation of the CPD has resulted in the grave distrust of both the police and the legal system as a whole.

There are reasonable questions that should be answered, see http://wordpress.com/tag/ryan-frederick-case/ for examples of the unanswered questions of the case from the beginning.

The answers will come out at trial, but by then the trust in the police will be so eroded that no one will believe them.

Submitted by Price on Wed, 03/26/2008 at 8:15 pm.
I swear the news media has someone sitting outside the house. Let the courts play it out.

Why? What gives you the idea that the "courts" can be trusted? They suck completely and do what they want to. How many examples of this do you need?

Is not "capital". There will be no execution if he is convicted as charged. I think the Capital Murder suggestion posed by the prosecutor in a earlier story, is just so much "smokescreen", to help prejudice public opinion, prior to the trial, that is sure to follow. If he had any true intentions to upgrade the charge, then why hasn't it been upgraded yet? Even First Degree is going to have to prove premeditation, to a jury who has to buy the theory to convict him. The looking for "observation points" is interesting. I cant wait until the word "observation" is changed to "vantage" to prove premeditation.. .I hope the jury can see through smoke, because smoke will be there, in abundance..(opinion)

A bunch of people are sitting around in a room thinking up ideas to provethe case against Ryan F. The new collection of evidence is to solidify the 'new' theories. This is just one of many to counter the obvious.

I think they are just dragging this case out in hopes that the community will forget about Ryan Frederick. I will be much easier for them to move forward with the case when the strong support of the community has died down for Frederick. Power to the People

Dead men can't sue, and it there were EVER just cause to sue the city, this would be it. Incompetence and missteps at every level. This young man's life is effectively ruined. How many of us could resume a normal existence after such a complete miscarriage of justice?

Ryan Frederick didn't lose his freedom over "a little bag of pot." If you are stupid enough to get involved with illegal substances-dealing or using, then you are inviting trouble into your life. I don't know why anyone feels sorry for this guy. Drugs are responsible for so many deaths, birth defects, violence, etc. every day. No one put a gun up to his head and made him grow/sell. He probably would have just shot them anyway. He invited this trouble right into his house and it came.

Look at the VB apartment shooting case - they have been collecting evidence since it occurred. I'm sure they won't be back there in June taking pictures and measurements. This case should be turned over to the State Police. Every department currently involved is tainted in some way, and really, not to be trusted. Especially the Chesapeake Police Department.

Door to door raids to erradicate a harmless weed that gives people a little buzzz? Sounds like dictatorship. Think of that the next time you sing our national anthem.

The CPD has not begun referring to it as the "Frederick compound", fortress of the internation drug kingpin.

" I have faith that the competent citizens of Chesapeake who will sit on Ryan's jury will see right through this farce"

I don't believe this trial will be held in Chesapeake...not with the prosecuting attorney that's been brought on board. But I could be wrong.

All the way around this one reeks.

Yeah, Rose were you there? Yes, there are two sides to the story, but I bet when it's all said and done the cops will be wrong. They're not out to protect us all they want is to lock you up and get our money.

If you read all the stuff in the paper, including what was taken from the house, then you would know, they did not find any Japanese Maples. Someone in the postings had said that it could be Japanese Maples, as they resemble Marijuana plants. So no, there were no maples there. That was a rumor. And as far as them looking like marijuana, only if you don't really know what marijuana plants look like.

a whole lot of spouting off about improper CPD procedures or what Ryan Fredrick was thinking that night. Bottom line is, only those that were there that night know what happened at this point.
If you were there raise your hand... thought not. Until then ease up on the conspiracy theories. The truth takes time.

I think we can all agree on some facts. 1)Someone broke into Fredericks garage and saw what they though was pot plants. 2)Someone (and PD knows who) told CPD there was a large pot growing operation at Fredericks house. 3)CPD requested a warrant on bogus information. 4) A warrant was issued on bogus information. 5) Pretty obvious CPD did not investigate or do surveilance prior to requesting warrant or serving warrant. 6) Fredericks front door was damaged (way more than a 90lb girl scout could do). 7) One or more .223 cal and one 380 cal shell casing were found in Fredericks house. 8) A CPD detective was killed with a bullet (no cal specified). 9) CPD has put out conflicting statements (ie:killed crawling through the kicked out lower door pannel: killed while standing in the yard etc...) 10) CPD has put out many ambiguous statements. 11) Fredericks statements have remained consistant. 12) With a very minimal investigation, this would have never happend. 13) Most cops have a tendency to be overzealous. I know who I beleive was a victim, worst part is, it could be you next. Maybe for a speeding ticket.

thank you for making my point and I knew it would not take long. All I was pointing out that Unionman was trying to update a person on the Ryan case with one sided information. There are two sides to this case, but it seems no one can talk about both sides. Everyone has to be "right". Either Ryan screwed up or the police screwed up. It is not that simple and you know it.
If you can not look at both sides of these issues then nothing will come of it. Watch the movie 12 Angry Men (I think the title is right, it has been a while) not for the legal part, but the thinking part.
I am curious how you know for "fact" the magistrate issued a bogus or illegal warrant. I do admit that I do not know all the facts in this case, but I am willing to discuss both sides of the issues. There are plenty of unanswered questions for both sides, wouldn't you agree?

Rose, Were you there? If not than you don't know what the facts are either! Let the evidence be heard and the courts decided.

Submitted by Willy Brown on Wed, 03/26/2008 at 5:39 pm.
A man lost his life over a bag of pot.

VERY VERY TRUE ! Chesapeake police officials.Are you listening? Can you live with yourselves that you cost Detective Shivers his life and now you may have to live with the execution of Ryan just because you listened to and acted upon BAD information? God have mercy on your souls.

Hey, Chesapeake Police - Make you you get you stoies straight so when you go into Court to LIE in order get Ryan convicted, you won't look as stupid as most of us know you are. I have faith that the competent citizens of Chesapeake who will sit on Ryan's jury will see right through this farce called "police work."

You said, You left out the fact that Fredrick shot through a door, no one was inside his home, it was January, so it is safe to say all the neighbors (maybe that is why no one heard the police announce) had their doors and windows shut. Japanese Maples, I agree may look like marjiuana,but Fredrick did have marjiuana inside the house. You do not know for a fact it was the informant who broke into the garage, unless it came out later" You DON'T know for a "fact" that Fredrick shot "through" the door, that Shivers or some other PD was not "inside his home", that the PD "announce", that the neighbors had their doors and windows "shut" (or for that matter the neighbors might have been outside) or that it was even a shot from Fredricks weapon instead of a PD weapon that killed Shivers. I know for a "FACT" that you DON'T know, because YOU weren't there. I do know it is a fact that the magistrate and PD screwed up with the warrant and the raid. As a result of their screw up, an officer is dead and a young man, who has never been in trouble in his life, is being held without bail. I wonder what we'd find in a raid on your house? The marijuana charge is the same as you getting a speeding tic

"The article", you should be a writer. You left out the fact that Fredrick shot through a door, no one was inside his home, it was January, so it is safe to say all the neighbors (maybe that is why no one heard the police announce) had their doors and windows shut. Japanese Maples, I agree may look like marjiuana,but Fredrick did have marjiuana inside the house. You do not know for a fact it was the informant who broke into the garage, unless it came out later.
In order to have a discussion you need to provide the reader with all the facts, both sides, not just want you want them to read. I would like to know about the .223 casing. That is fact, .380 casings, that is fact.

You probably just read this article but don't know the details of this case. There have been a lot of news articles on here discussing the Frederick case so we all have been able to obtain quite a few of the details surrounding this story and the incompetence of the CPD. Ryan Frederick was raising Japanese Maples in his garage. These plants, in their young states. look surprisingly, like Marijuana. The informant looked into his garage, and it is believed he is the one, who broke in and mistook the Maples for the Marijuana. It was his testimony that convinced the police to make this "knock and rock" raid on Frederick's house. Frederick was reacting like any homeowner would do, defend his home after waking up from a deep sleep to his dogs barking frantically and discovering someone braking into his home. Frederick's neighbors never heard the police identify themselves as police, yet the police would have you believe otherwise.

I swear the news media has someone sitting outside the house. Let the courts play it out.