griz
Member
Believe it or not I'm not trying to start a cop bashing thread. My hope is to point out the dual standards of conduct ultimately will hurt support for LEOs.
Sheriff’s actions spur talk of recall
Sheriff Gary W. Waters .
By AMY JETER AND MEGHAN HOYER, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 30, 2004
PORTSMOUTH — City offices have been flooded with calls this week from people who say they are outraged that Sheriff Gary W. Waters was caught speeding and was suspected of driving drunk but was not arrested.
The mayor’s office has received 114 phone calls on the topic since Tuesday, and the voter registrar’s office has fielded at least 40 calls in the past two days. City Council members and the commonwealth’s attorney’s office also have been contacted.
Many callers want to know what they can do to remove Waters from the elected post he has held for more than 20 years. Others want him to be fired or to face some justice.
“Two things are sure: They’re not happy with the situation, and they’re not happy with the sheriff,†said Bill Prince, spokesman for the commonwealth’s attorney.
Waters was stopped early on Dec. 27 for speeding on a stretch of George Washington Highway. He showed signs that he had been drinking, but he refused to undergo a breath or field sobriety test and “was not being very polite,†according to authorities.
The sheriff called an assistant police chief, who police say declined to talk to him. He also was allowed to call for a ride home.
The police chief and commonwealth’s attorney have said that the decisions of officers at the scene made it impossible to prosecute a DUI case, and no charges have been brought. Police have said the incident resulted in a policy change and that the officers are unlikely to be disciplined.
Waters issued a written apology Wednesday, saying his “behavior was inappropriate†and that he was sorry if his actions brought embarrassment to the police department. He called upon Portsmouth citizens to remember what he has contributed to the city. He has not commented further.
Waters is responsible for overseeing courthouse security and the Portsmouth City Jail, which houses an average of about 500 inmates. His department employs 177 people and has a budget of about $11 million. His annual salary is about $101,000.
During the years, Waters has instituted community services programs, such as free funeral escorts and a school drug prevention program taught by deputies.
But now, some citizens are telling officials that the apology was not enough to atone for his actions last month.
City Councilwoman Marlene Randall said she had received more than a dozen faxes and calls at home and hadn’t checked her e-mail yet.
“What I’m getting from people is a sense of outrage,†Randall said. “They’re really very disturbed that two major infractions occurred with no consequences. There should be some way to penalize him.â€
A spokeswoman from the Sheriff’s Office would not give the number and nature of the calls there.
Portsmouth’s general registrar, Deloris M. Overton, said callers want to know how to oust the sheriff.
According to Virginia law, citizens can petition for an elected officer to be removed for neglect of duty, misuse of office or incompetence.
The petition must be signed by 10 percent of the number of people who voted for that office in the last election.
In the 2001 Portsmouth sheriff’s race, 25,569 people voted. A petition for Waters’ removal would require signatures from 2,557 registered voters in Portsmouth.
A completed petition would be filed with the Circuit Court, and the elected officer would be asked to provide the court with a reason he or she should not be removed.
There would then be a trial to determine whether the official will keep the office.
Waters, 59, won about 71 percent of the vote when he was elected to his sixth four-year term in November 2001. He is chairman of the city’s Democratic Party. The next election for sheriff is in 2005.
In the late 1990s, a Portsmouth government reform group attempted to force out then-Commonwealth’s Attorney Martin Bullock by petitioning for his removal.
That effort died after a registrar determined that the petition did not have enough signatures, and a visiting judge eventually ruled that Circuit Court was not the proper jurisdiction.
A different process was used to remove Mayor James W. Holley III in 1987.
That process falls under the city charter and involves putting the question of removal to voters in a recall election. Holley was re-elected mayor in 1996.
News researchers Maureen Watts and Ann Kinken Johnson contributed to this report.
Reach Amy Jeter at 446-2793 or [email protected] Reach Meghan Hoyer at 446-2293 or [email protected]
Link to the story
Sheriff’s actions spur talk of recall
Sheriff Gary W. Waters .
By AMY JETER AND MEGHAN HOYER, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 30, 2004
PORTSMOUTH — City offices have been flooded with calls this week from people who say they are outraged that Sheriff Gary W. Waters was caught speeding and was suspected of driving drunk but was not arrested.
The mayor’s office has received 114 phone calls on the topic since Tuesday, and the voter registrar’s office has fielded at least 40 calls in the past two days. City Council members and the commonwealth’s attorney’s office also have been contacted.
Many callers want to know what they can do to remove Waters from the elected post he has held for more than 20 years. Others want him to be fired or to face some justice.
“Two things are sure: They’re not happy with the situation, and they’re not happy with the sheriff,†said Bill Prince, spokesman for the commonwealth’s attorney.
Waters was stopped early on Dec. 27 for speeding on a stretch of George Washington Highway. He showed signs that he had been drinking, but he refused to undergo a breath or field sobriety test and “was not being very polite,†according to authorities.
The sheriff called an assistant police chief, who police say declined to talk to him. He also was allowed to call for a ride home.
The police chief and commonwealth’s attorney have said that the decisions of officers at the scene made it impossible to prosecute a DUI case, and no charges have been brought. Police have said the incident resulted in a policy change and that the officers are unlikely to be disciplined.
Waters issued a written apology Wednesday, saying his “behavior was inappropriate†and that he was sorry if his actions brought embarrassment to the police department. He called upon Portsmouth citizens to remember what he has contributed to the city. He has not commented further.
Waters is responsible for overseeing courthouse security and the Portsmouth City Jail, which houses an average of about 500 inmates. His department employs 177 people and has a budget of about $11 million. His annual salary is about $101,000.
During the years, Waters has instituted community services programs, such as free funeral escorts and a school drug prevention program taught by deputies.
But now, some citizens are telling officials that the apology was not enough to atone for his actions last month.
City Councilwoman Marlene Randall said she had received more than a dozen faxes and calls at home and hadn’t checked her e-mail yet.
“What I’m getting from people is a sense of outrage,†Randall said. “They’re really very disturbed that two major infractions occurred with no consequences. There should be some way to penalize him.â€
A spokeswoman from the Sheriff’s Office would not give the number and nature of the calls there.
Portsmouth’s general registrar, Deloris M. Overton, said callers want to know how to oust the sheriff.
According to Virginia law, citizens can petition for an elected officer to be removed for neglect of duty, misuse of office or incompetence.
The petition must be signed by 10 percent of the number of people who voted for that office in the last election.
In the 2001 Portsmouth sheriff’s race, 25,569 people voted. A petition for Waters’ removal would require signatures from 2,557 registered voters in Portsmouth.
A completed petition would be filed with the Circuit Court, and the elected officer would be asked to provide the court with a reason he or she should not be removed.
There would then be a trial to determine whether the official will keep the office.
Waters, 59, won about 71 percent of the vote when he was elected to his sixth four-year term in November 2001. He is chairman of the city’s Democratic Party. The next election for sheriff is in 2005.
In the late 1990s, a Portsmouth government reform group attempted to force out then-Commonwealth’s Attorney Martin Bullock by petitioning for his removal.
That effort died after a registrar determined that the petition did not have enough signatures, and a visiting judge eventually ruled that Circuit Court was not the proper jurisdiction.
A different process was used to remove Mayor James W. Holley III in 1987.
That process falls under the city charter and involves putting the question of removal to voters in a recall election. Holley was re-elected mayor in 1996.
News researchers Maureen Watts and Ann Kinken Johnson contributed to this report.
Reach Amy Jeter at 446-2793 or [email protected] Reach Meghan Hoyer at 446-2293 or [email protected]
Link to the story
