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Roanoke’s prosecutor should look inward for problems

Posted on October 10, 2007 | Filed Under Rants

The Roanoke Times recently wrote an article about the Timothy Workman trial in Roanoke. Mr. Workman is the ex-DEA agent recently acquitted in the shooting death of a man outside a local restaurant several years ago. Apparently Donald Caldwell, the elected Roanoke City commonwealth’s attorney made some statements that local police have found offensive and inappropriate during the trial. Here are a few excerpts from the Times story-

“Roanoke police officers challenged the city’s top prosecutor Tuesday, rejecting remarks in which he compared a city officer to Barney Fife in open court.

Caldwell criticized police for allowing Workman, an off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent, to walk around and speak with investigators after the shooting rather than handcuffing him and isolating him like any other suspect.

Comparing Garrett to the bungling deputy sheriff on “The Andy Griffith Show,” Caldwell described him as “the good-hearted guy who tries to help out, but he doesn’t quite get it right.”

As a former Magistrate in Roanoke City, I have worked with the criticized police officer on many occasions and besides always being extremely professional and competent with me, I found him to always be respectful to those under arrest as well.

In this instance, it seems to me like another opportunity for the City’s elected prosecutor to sling mud and blame someone else for his own office’s blunders. I often found Mr. Caldwell’s office uncooperative (they are charged with advising the magistrates if necessary) and condescending towards victims, professionals and others on more than once occasions. Enough to classify it as an attitude endemic to himself and his employees.

Rather than fighting with federal authorities over which crimes they prosecute, it seems like the CA would want the Feds to prosecute in the cases where the criminals would get more time and therefore keep them out of our community longer. Instead, it smacks of a childish, territorial game played out at the expense and slandering of an otherwise professional police officer.

From Roanoke’s Chief of Police, Joe Gaskins-

Roanoke Police Chief Joe Gaskins said he is unaware of any complaint against Garrett in the officer’s 17-year career with the department.

“Kenny Garrett is a fine officer and for anyone to assume they knew what was in his mind without any proof was erroneous, period,” Gaskins said.

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Woe to you Hokie Bird!

Posted on September 10, 2006 | Filed Under Rants, Roanoke Happenings

What’s the deal with all the vandalism to the Hokie Bird statues in Blacksburg? Is it some disgruntled local? A rival mascot? Some other group of miscreants? Whoever it is, it’s not really funny and I hope they are caught and prosecuted. From what I’ve read, those fiberglass statues are around $7500 each! Someone needs to be turned over the proverbial knee and given a good spanking.

Hokie Bird statues (a map of their locations [pdf])–

“That I May Serve - Nick Brantley Memorial” by Sarah Meadows of Bedford honors the life of Navy Lt. Nick Brantley, a Virginia Tech alumni and previous commander of the Virginia Tech Corp of Cadets.

“Hokie Kopia” by Michael St. Germain

“Word Bird” by Kathleen Lunsford

“Motion Technology for Sea, Air, Land and Space” by Phil Stevens

“Everything is Coming Up Roses” by Senior Center art class

“Hokie Bird Paints the Town” by Senior Center art class

These people on Flickr love their Hokie Bird statue!

(I will add more as I have time, and feel free to add links in the comments and I’ll add the bird here, thanks!)

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CSI: Can’t Stand It

Posted on May 19, 2006 | Filed Under Rants

If you’re grossed out easily, this post isn’t for you.

RANT:

I should start off with the disclaimer that I used to love shows like CSI, Law & Order, ER. I also used to work in the justice system, volunteer with the local rescue squad as a cardiac technician and I have seen the real blood of a murder victim on the hands of her murderer as well as other tragedies that these shows glorify.

Last night I watched CSI (or any show like it) for the first time in many months and was really sickened by the level of “realism” that the writers, director and TV people are putting into it. I watched a police detective lift the severed head of a murder victim out of a creek. I watched a police detective being shot in slow motion, complete with fake blood flying out of his wounds. I watched the autopsy of the aforementioned severed head victim, complete with them realigning the severed head with the man’s torso.

What makes this truly disturbing is the great efforts that everyone involved in the production goes through to make it realistic and yet how very unrealistic it truly is. I’ll first start off by saying that the sound effects they use…completely inaccurate. Our bodies, dead or alive, do not come anywhere close to the level of disgusting sounds portrayed on the television. Furthermore, police detectives do not lift severed heads from anywhere by their hair and stare into their eyes.

It amazes me that this stuff is allowed on television. This is the kind of thing that movies like Friday the 13th were originally rated R for.

Remember, I used to love this stuff, but having some time off from it has really opened my eyes to how truly disturbing it is.

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