Many Updates on the Va. Alcohol Agents Who Charged Student With 3 Felonies for buying water

[JPZenger]

Last edited Tue Jul 16, 2013, 07:49 AM - Edit history (2)

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/abc-in-flux-during-build-up-to-charlottesville-case/article_91fb69c2-ec1b-11e2-9978-0019bb30f31a.html

Some interesting follow-up reporting on the case of the 20 year old UVa student who was surrounded by 6 Va. plainclothes alcohol agents 10 pm at night after she bought bottled water. She was thrown in jail and charged with 3 felonies, before the local prosecutor decided not to prosecute 2 months later. ABC had not withdrawn the charges.

The linked article reveals the following:

- John Taylor, the agent in charge of the detail had been demoted BEFORE the incident, after his boss had witnessed some questionable behavior by him and the agents under his command. He was transferred from running a large regional office to running a small satellite office.


- After reviewing what happening in Charlottesville, the Deputy Director reportedly had told the agent in charge that his unit had done a heck-of-a job, Brownie. “Goodman wanted me to reach out to all involved and let you know that he and Walker have reviewed everything and are 100 percent supportive of the actions that were taken by everyone that night,” Taylor wrote. “I also want to let each of you know that I am 100 percent supportive of everyone’s actions.”

Excerpt:

'After nearly 20 years of working in the agency’s Lynchburg office, ABC Law Enforcement Director Shawn Walker said Taylor no longer was capable of leading the agents there and would be sent to Staunton “for the good of the bureau,” ...

Walker said he made the decision about Taylor after seeing “an altercation” during a training exercise at a Lynchburg firing range. The confrontation was the latest in a series of problems that Walker witnessed that day, he testified.

“Just watching the physical reactions, the eye rolling, the turning away, the very closed type of body language of Taylor’s agents,” Walker said. The behavior involved “a number of agents and was enough to be significant, where I realized I’ve got to intercede and do something here.”
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(Note - some editing of text in brackets was done because DU's system does not allow use of brackets.)

Here's some photos of the ABC's new 22 ton $750,000 field support vehicle, which will make it easier for them to tell the difference between bottled water and beer in supermarket parking lots.

http://progress-index.com/polopoly_fs/1.1491046!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_490/image.jpg





After all, you never know when the ABC will be called upon to stop a zombie apocalypse in one of their liquor stores. These types of vehicles are mainly used by agencies preparing for natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

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http://www.nbc29.com/story/22833474/abc-agent-involved-in-recent-raid-has-troubled-record

Excerpts:

"Documents allege ABC received complaints from employees and the community about Taylor and that those complaints allege bullying and mistreatment.

....Jones alleges numerous problems under Taylor's leadership...and that Taylor's conduct triggered complaints of bullying and mistreatment.

The new allegations suggest the April raid on a UVA student may not be the only instance of aggressive behavior within the agency."

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http://www.readthehook.com/109860/botch-athon-legislators-question-abc-procedures

"Delegate David Toscano also wants to look at ABC policies. "I know there's a lot of concern," he says. "I've heard not just from the public but from ABC folks concerned that this is an outlier incident."

For Toscano, the big issue is "proportionality," and whether the agents needed to prevent the women from driving away for what is a summons offense. "The better part of valor would have been to take the license plate number and then write a summons," he says. "They didn't do that."

He, too, questions the need for a firearm for underage drinking interdiction. "Is there a reason for the attempt to break the window?" he asks. "Is that consistent with policy?"
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Around the time that the decision was being made to continue to prosecute the felony charges or not, the Chairman of the ABC Board was at a 5 day conference at the Sheraton Waikiki Resort in Hawaii.

[Patiod]

1. Oddly enough, this has something in common with the Zimmerman case

You don't get to stop and question a young person unless you are wearing a uniform.

Yesterday I was watching people on FB discussing the Zimmerman verdict say things like "When I was young, if an adult had stopped and questioned me, I would have answered respectfully" Like bloody fucking hell you would have. I wanted to ask them if they told their teenaged kids to do that. If any adult man asks them for their kids for his/her name and address, should they provide it, and then quietly wait for the police? Or should they run/drive off?

We've had women raped and murdered by un-uniformed people using portable police lights on their cars. I think most parents would tell their kids never to cooperate with a adult stranger, and to run/drive away and go to the nearest police station, like these girls did.

[JPZenger]

2. Names of Agents

ABC had refused to release any of the names of the agents involved, however several have leaked out.

Recently demoted agent in charge John Taylor of Lynchburg, agent Andrew Taylor, agent Lauren Blanks of Chesapeake, Agent Armond Brown (reportedly the guy who pulled his gun) and agent Andrew Covey of Charlottesville.

[JPZenger]

3. $750,000 ABC Command Vehicle Essential Part of the Emporia Pork Festival & Uncle Billy's Day

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/abc-s-k-mobile-command-unit-loaded-with-extras/article_0f2db55a-f1c4-11e2-a026-001a4bcf6878.html

"The mighty machine stretches 45 feet, weighs 44,600 pounds and is equipped with more than $300,000 in extras. At Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control, the vehicle is known as a “game changer,” the terms an ABC official used to describe the mobile command unit unveiled at a May news conference in Richmond.

....Other trips included rides to the Uncle Billy’s Day Festival in Altavista and Emporia’s Virginia Pork Festival, promoted by a website brandishing an inarguably fitting theme: “Gettin’ piggy with it!”