Editor, The Smithfield Times:

I want to express my thoughts on the lawsuit filed against the Town of Windsor.

It was by admission of those elected and appointed who serve the Town of Windsor that the vehicle stopped for a possible tag violation escalated in a way that was unprofessional. The officer was dismissed from service. It is my understanding, but possibly an assumption on my part, that our chief of police reviewed policies with his officers following the incident.

The lawsuit filed by the outgoing state attorney general suggests to me the intent to investigate the matter was fulfilled. However, the findings suggest a question of integrity upon the Office of the Attorney General. The racial mix of the town is relatively unimportant. It postulates that only residents of the town are driving within the town limits.

To use the ratio correctly one would need to know the number of vehicles passing through the town limits on Route 460 on a given day of the week. This section of roadway is designated simply because of where the named incident occurred. Of those vehicles counted, a count would need to be recorded of whether the driver is assumed to be Black, white, Hispanic or other.

The cited numerous examples of questionable information provided by the Town of Windsor suggests that persons in the Office of the Attorney General read the information provided and believed the information to be unreliable. Nonetheless, with haste a case was presented.

The result of their haste to proceed with questionable information appears to reveal a lack of professionalism among those who serve the state of Virginia as support staff for the attorney general. Nevertheless, the AG’s office was able to put another item in a year-end report to the Virginia legislature. I pity the group of individuals who on behalf of the court may have to do the work that should have been done by the AG’s support staff.

This lawsuit is frivolous. I would suggest the more likely possibility exists that traffic ticketing is not a racial issue but reveals a lack of respect on the part of drivers for the limits and laws placed upon them having chosen to operate a vehicle on the roadways of the town of Windsor. However, I am willing to invite other residents to bring a lawn chair and together we can sit along 460 and attempt to collect the data.

 

Reuben Askew

Windsor