Virginia ‘secret police’ bill tabled by committee

Virginia lawmakers on Thursday unanimously agreed to table a bill that aimed to make the names and training records of law enforcement officials exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests.

Despite having passed the state Senate last month by a a 25-15 vote, Del. Richard L. Anderson, a Republican representing the Prince William region, convinced lawmakers in a House subcommittee this week to go back to the drawing board with respect to what critics called an effort to establish “secret police.”

Introduced last month by state Sen. John A. Cosgrove Jr., a Republican representing the Chesapeake region, Senate Bill 552 called for excluding the names and training records of law enforcement officers from mandatory disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. His proposal was endorsed by Kevin Carroll, president of the Virginia chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, who agreed that existing FOIA rules could allow criminals to identify and target public officials through records requests.

“When you put the officer’s name out there on the Internet now — with the ability that people have to find people — they’re going to find out where they live and they’re going to have the opportunity to kill them and do other bad things to their family,” Mr. Carroll told The Associated Press.

“It can even be the counselor for MS-13” filing FOIA requests, Mr. Cosgrove added.

Mr. Anderson, a retired Air Force colonel, said Thursday that the state’s police officers “merit protection,” but ultimately sided with transparency advocates who said taxpayer deserved to know who they’re funding.

“Those who wish to defend this principle of openness in a constitutional republic — that is a valid concept, too,” the delegate said.

Mr. Cosgrove proposed the measure last month after The Virginian-Pilot newspaper filed a FOIA request for the names and employment history of the state’s law enforcement officials. The paper said it is investigating whether the state had hired police officers who had been disciplined previously in other departments.

“It’s a way to put names with compensation and salary,” Craig Merritt of the Virginia Press Association told The Washington Post. “This is a check on patronage abuses. It’s a check on favoritism. It’s a check on discrimination against people who are in protected classes. It’s a check against improper moonlighting on taxpayers’ dollars.”

Thursday’s tabling mean Senate Bill 552 is done for the year, but an advisory council is likely to consider arguments raised by either side next name the state reviews its current FOIA statutes.