The Virginian-Pilot
©
CHESAPEAKE
The Tidewater Libertarian Party will ask the City Council next week to establish a citizen review board to investigate Chesapeake police procedures during a fatal drug raid last year.
Detective Jarrod Shivers, a 34-year-old father of three, was shot to death while trying to enter a home in the 900 block of Redstart Ave. the night of Jan. 17, 2008. The home-owner, Ryan Frederick, was convicted this month of misdemeanor possession of marijuana and voluntary manslaughter.
Don Tabor of the Tidewater Libertarian Party said his group will address the council Tuesday because many questions
regarding police procedures have gone unanswered.
"Somebody outside the Police Department should be overseeing the police, just as civilian authority oversees the military," Tabor said.
Police used a 40-pound battering ram on Frederick's front door during the raid, which was executed based on information from a confidential informant. The informant, Steven Wright, had broken into Frederick's detached garage days before the raid to look for evidence of a marijuana-growing operation and to steal plants.
Officers gave Frederick 25 seconds to answer his door before using the battering ram, according to prosecutors in the case. Frederick, 29, has said he did not know it was police knocking in his front door and fired at what he thought were intruders.
Police found no plants and a small amount of marijuana. A jury recommended a 30-day jail sentence for the drug crime and 10 years in prison for the shooting.
Mayor Alan Krasnoff and Dwight Parker, the council's public safety liaison, did not return calls Wednesday.
The outcome of an internal police investigation into the fatal shooting has not been made public. Police said in August that except for equipping its special investigations section with more protective tactical vests, there had been no changes to policy or procedure.
Tabor's presentation will be limited to seeking an independent review of the Frederick investigation. The Chesapeake chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has called for a similar, but permanent, citizen review board. In the past, the Police Department has resisted such an idea.
In a statement, the Libertarian Party said, "This citizen review board should have full access to all evidence, records, reviews and testimony, and report to the City Council, and ultimately, with council approval of sensitive content, to the public, in order to restore the lost trust of the citizens in our police department and to ensure that our police officers and citizens are no longer placed in unnecessary danger."
John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
Richard, you should try Comedy
as a career. Ryan admitted to distributing drugs. That means he was guilty of the same crimes that posters claimed Bell was doing. I had a high conviction rate due to diligent investigation, which means I didn't bring frivolous or weak cases to trial. You obviously have no idea what it entails to do proper investigations. You also apparently have a very low opinion as to what makes a good law enforcement officer, whether in a policing or judicial branch. I feel sorry for folks as you. You have no concept of what some people actually do in their avocation, so you attempt to belittle their professions. What I wrote was truth. What you wrote is silliness, based on conjecture, weighted by viewing life through a fog of lack of comprehension of basic law, life & generality.
TWOMILER
"I brought over 300 felony cases to trial in my career. I had a high conviction rate."
Ahhh, the high conviction rate. Now many of you know how police officers and prosecutors are judged by their peers and supeiors. You now see why your rights are in the garbage.
"Ryan just never had been caught. He was involved in the same criminal activity that you claim Bell was."
Ahhh, he has now violated Ryan Frederick's civil rights. Your assumption cannot be proven thus you are open for civil action. But your an expert on the law and should know this. Otherwise you would have to admit you were unqualified as the citizens and should have had a JD to perform your duty. But we all know you will tell us the police should be the only judge of the police tactics. Highly entertaining commentary from a LEO.
am81430
I will tell you EXACTLY who police officers are accountable to. The same as you or anybody else. As has been stated in reference to this article, there have been instances of corruption and criminal acts by police officers. Who do you think determined that? Who do you think brought these poor excuses for cops in? COPS! And the system that I've seen repeatedly let drug dealers with violent histories walk with 30 days time served will hammer a cop for a relatively minor offense. I don't pretend to understand the rhyme or reason that goes with sentencing. But I'd put the credibility of police officers in general against any proffession, including the clergy. People talking about this don't want accountability. They either got a ticket they don't think they deserve and they want to get even, or they're angry over something they don't understand and they want somebody to blame. Is the system perfect? No. It may even suck. But it's better than all the other ways we've tried.
Livingatbeach
Police tactics are most decidedly a matter for ANY governing body, be it the city or town council of a locality, a state legislature, or the federal government. Not to mention the local, appeals, and U.S. courts. If you, or any other citizen has a problem with police tactics, I would say you need to become educated with the law, and if you disagree with the law CHANGE it. Adding an unnecessary level of bureaucracy will not help. Especially when it will almost certainly be composed of people with some kind of ax to grind with police. And I didn't say because a person who isn't a cop is too dumb to oversee police procedures, I said nearly all people who aren't cops have no idea what correct police procedures look like. Something you should keep in mind is that police follow established procedures. They have to because it's the law. It seems obvious to me that CPD botched the whole Frederick case from the word GO. But hold the correct people accountable from the Chief down to the unit that did the bust.
living at the beach,
you should get a job at the Comedy Club. I brought over 300 felony cases to trial in my career. I had a high conviction rate. No lying on the stand, no questionable witnesses, just solid work. You couldn't determine, with any true reliability, the difference in 3 different DNA samples left on anything in 1997. Besides, DNA evidence, even today, doesn't prove 100% that 1 is guilty. Besides, if 1 touches a gun, 1 leaves DNA. So, that proves nothing. Because 1 has a criminal record doesn't mean they are guilty of any charge with which a dept wishes to charge him. Ryan just never had been caught. He was involved in the same criminal activity that you claim Bell was. I'm retired. If you are 1/2 as good at what you do as I've been at anything I've done, then you have a right to pat yourself on the back.
It sounds like Freeborn John
It sounds like Freeborn John is member of the TLP and is trying to air in public a grievance he has with the TLP rather than in private where it belongs.
But what do I know?
John Lilburne
I am loath to comment on an article in which I am mentioned, but I must point out that I have no idea who John Lilburne is and he certainly does not speak for the Tidewater Libertarian Party.
The final wording of our statement was determined by the TLP executive board after a vote by the members present at our February 7 meeting to make a statement and to defer to the board on the final wording.
The final wording was emailed to members of the board after the meeting for additional comment, only one critique was received before the posting deadline, from the Youth Committee Chair. Though I received a supportive email from another board member, there were no further emails sent on the matter and no one was excluded from any discussion. In the absence of any further debate, the final document was posted at Tidewater Liberty as it stood at the end of the executive board meeting and is a consensus statement of the TLP.
RobertA
Accountable to whom? Filling out an application and meeting certain requirements does not constitute accountability. For the record, they are already accountable to the public. Do your homework. A citizen commission is not out of order. Are you telling me that the Chesapeake Hospital Authority is unable to run Chesapeake General? Your argument does not make any sense. And by the way, I wouldn't qualify to be a CPD officer since I would score too high on the math test.
twomiler2
I remember reading that story. There were 3 different DNA's on the weapon, one of which was Bell's. Quoting the Pilot "DNA from the gun was a mixture of at least three people, including Bell". There was a difference in these cases. One Bell had a long criminal history, and this happened while the officer was chasing Bell, where RF was in his home, no criminal history and according to his statements, (which I happen to believe) he was responding to what he thought was intruders breaking into his home. Apples and Oranges. The TLP is speaking up because a taxpaying citizen with no criminal history, home was raided in a commando style raid solely based on the unverified information of a known criminal and a Police officers died and the homeowner's life destroyed and that it was totally avoidable with some proper investigation and using common sense. All you do with the type comment you made is show that you have no regard for individual Constitutional Rights that we have. If you are in law enforcement, you should find another career.
If Dr Tabor's group
really is interested in questioning proper police & judicial system policies, why aren't they protesting the scheduled execution of Edward Nathaniel Bell. Bell was convicted of shooting & killing a Winchester police officer, even though there was no eye witness, DNA didn't link Bell to the weapon used in the crime but it did link 3 other people, & the only evidence offered was that Bell was found nearby & an informant stated Bell had told him 4yrs earlier, that he would shoot this officer because the officer had stopped him for a concealed weapon. That's a lot less evidence than what was presented in Ryan Frederick's trial.