Alexandria Gazette Packet 25 Cents Vol. CCXXVI, No. 11 Serving Alexandria for over 200 years • A Connection Newspaper March 18, 2010 They Won’t Tell Police departments in No. Virginia refuse to release public documents. By Michael Lee Pope Gazette Packet Secret Police? ❖ ALEXANDRIA: In September, the Alexandria Police Department issued he cop cruiser patrolling a press release announcing the arrest your neighborhood is op of Ralph Fowler, a man they charged T with a series of burglaries in Old erating in secret. And Town. In response to a Freedom of don’t bother asking for documents Information Act request, Alexandria detailing their activities because officials refused to release incident police departments in Northern reports detailing the crimes alleged in the press release. In an interview Virginia routinely deny requests about availability of public for incident reports. Police officials documents, Alexandria Police Chief Frank Thorp V Frank Thorp in Arlington won’t even answer Earl Cook said he didn’t think he needed to justify his department’s questions about their lack of trans- lack of transparency. parency. It’s all legal under the Vir- ❖ ARLINGTON: In July, the Arlington Photo by Photo ginia Freedom of Information Act, County Police Department arrested former Alexandria Police Chief David “They love her so much, and she loves them,” Frank Thorp writes. “They are the which includes broad exemptions Baker and charged him with drunk reason we are here and that makes it all worth it.” From left: JeanBa, Jean Marie, for police agencies. Local jurisdic- driving. In response to a Freedom of tions use their exemption in all Information Act request for the Jillian, Milo — who first found Jillian in the collapsed house, and Frantz. incident report, county officials cases, regardless of what the case charged $24 for a one-paragraph is about or whether the case is summary of the document in which open or closed. they misidentified the man they arrested. They later explained that Returning to Haiti To Help “I don’t think we have to justify Baker was correctly identified in the it,” said Alexandria Police Chief report, but they refused to release it, Earl Cook in an interview about even now that Baker has served his sentence in the county jail. Arlington Frank and Jillian Thorp survived January earthquake. access to public documents. “A lot police officials declined a request to of things can be said about trans- be interviewed about their By Sandy Levitz Lunner parency, that doesn’t make it ef- commitment to transparency. said, ‘It’s an earthquake,’ and then everything came ❖ FAIRFAX: In November, a Fairfax Gazette Packet tumbling down.” fective.” County Police Department officer Both Jillian Thorp and Dietsch were pinned in In a series of Freedom of Infor- shot and killed a motorist on mation Act requests to three Richmond Highway. In response to a ow can you really thank the people who an area they estimated to be about three feet by Freedom of Information Act request, saved your life? five feet. They were injured, but their biggest con- Northern Virginia jurisdictions, Fairfax officials declined to release H the name of the officer who killed the For one young couple with Alexandria cern was conserving whatever oxygen they had police officials denied access to a wide range of public information. man or share documents related to roots, the answer is to help them rebuild theirs. in that small space. Jillian Thorp still had her cell the incident. A spokeswoman for the Frank Thorp V, a freelance journalist, was re- phone in her hand but wasn’t able to call out. Alexandria police issued a press Fairfax County Police Department searching a story in the moun- En route to Port-au-Prince, release including a mug shot when said the agency is concerned that they arrested a burglar in Old victims might be unwilling to report tains 100 miles north of Port- Frank Thorp finally reached his crimes if the department was more au-Prince when the earthquake “She said I’m stuck. wife on her cell. Town last year, yet they won’t re- transparent, although she hit on Jan. 12. He and his col- “She said ‘I’m stuck. We’re in lease the incident reports leading acknowledged she had no evidence leagues felt it and even noticed We’re in the front the front bedroom, please send to his prosecution or Fowler’s ar- to support that claim. the mountains below start to help.’ And then the line went rest report. In Fairfax County, po- bounce. But they had no idea bedroom, please dead. It was terrifying.” lice officials said they were con- tions about their denial to release how serious it was. send help. And then About three hours after the cerned sharing public information documents related to the drunk- “About two hours later,” initial earthquake, two of the widely available elsewhere would driving arrest of a former Alexan- Frank Thorp said, “somebody the line went dead. Haitian Mission House staff have a chilling effect on victims dria police chief — a case that’s came to tell us that it had hit members arrived at the House and witness, although a spokes- been fully adjudicated in the Port au Prince and leveled the It was terrifying.” to see if everyone was OK. woman acknowledged there’s no courts. capital, the central palace. And — Frank Thorp “And that’s when the rescue evidence to bolster this claim. And “I think Northern Virginia has then we got really worried and effort to get us out started,” the Arlington County Police De- headed right down there.” Jillian Thorp said. “They came partment refused to answer ques- See Documents, Page 3 Frank Thorp’s wife Jillian was acting director back with tools and lights and were there for the 22314 VA Alexandria, of Haitian Ministries Norwich Mission House in next seven hours to get us free.” St., King 1604 To: ted Address Service Reques Service Address Port-au-Prince where she managed a staff of six It took Frank Thorp and his colleagues more material. and helped run the education program that served than six hours to get to Port-au-Prince from the Time-sensitive 136 students. mountains. Navigating through the city was nearly Postmaster: “I had just finished a meeting with my co- impossible so he jumped out of the pick up truck Attention Permit #482 Permit worker Chuck Dietsch and we were walking down- and ran the rest of the way to the flattened Mis VA Alexandria, PAID stairs,” Jillian Thorp recalled. “I was on my cell Postage U.S. phone when the ground started to shake. Chuck See Couple Returns, Page 7 STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ March 18-24, 2010 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ March 18-24, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News Council Notebook Democracy in Alexandria? Don’t like the idea of voting for City Council members in No- vember? Keep it to yourself. Last weekend, Democratic council Transparency Blackout members rejected a proposal to conduct a referendum asking voters whether they prefer municipal elections in May or Novem- From Page 1 making police officials in Northern Virginia open to ber. A decision has already been made, they said Saturday, and the least amount of public scrutiny in America. now it’s time to move on. really taken this to an extreme,” said Ginger “We are elected to make decisions,” said Vice Mayor Kerry Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press As- FAIRFAX COUNTY is the least transparent police Donely. “I think we have studied this to death.” sociation. “I understand the need of law enforce- department in Northern Virginia. Even defense at- The dispute began shortly after the May election, when two in- ment to protect an ongoing investigation, but there’s torneys in Fairfax complain that they have to get a cumbent Democrats were ousted from the City Council. Shortly also a public interest at work here.” court order to see police records that are routinely after the election, lame-duck members of the all-Democratic council made available in the rest of Virginia. In contrast to approved a controversial plan to move municipal elections from THE CODE OF SILENCE has its roots in the Vir- Alexandria and Arlington, where prosecutors open May to November. Critics said it was a cynical ploy to boost Demo- ginia Freedom of Information Act, passed by the their office to defense attorneys, the Fairfax cratic votes when attention would be focused on national and state General Assembly in the 1968. The legislation in- commonwealth’s attorney’s office forces defendants elections. Supporters defended the move as a way to increase par- cludes a loophole large enough for a police cruiser to tie up court time and jump through bureaucratic ticipation. This week, independent Councilwoman Alicia Hughes to drive through it. Local governments have an ex- hoops to get documents that are easily available else- came forward with a plan to conduct a referendum on the issue. emption that allows for a complete blackout for where — even in Virginia. “Let the people decide,” said Hughes. “The people, not politi- “complaints, memoranda, correspondence, case files “It certainly puts more of a burden on the defen- cians, should rule.” or reports, witness statements and evidence.” These dant,” said Jim Clark, a defense attorney who prac- No way, responded the Democratic majority, raising an endless documents that reveal a wide spectrum of detailed tices in Fairfax County. “I’d love to get every incident stream of concerns. How would the referendum be worded? Is information about police behavior, everything from report, but that’s not how things work in Virginia.” there enough time to seek a charter amendment before the next how investigations are conducted to how conclusions Nowhere is the lack of transparency on display more election? Would the United States Department of Justice have are reached.