Sunday, July 05, 2009
Editorial: Sniper dispute ricochet hits regionalism
A dangerous training exercise should resound in Roanoke's sheriff's race, too.
From the RoundTable blog
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First, law enforcement officers' safety was compromised.
Then, the Roanoke sheriff's leadership came under question after news broke in April that some deputies in her department had participated in training that intentionally put officers downrange of live gunfire.
Now, Roanoke County has decided to end joint operation of its training facilities with city law enforcement agencies after threatening to do so over the disputed training. So regionalism takes a hit, too.
The training fiasco, from its ill-advised conception to the bumbling explanations that followed, needs to be a central issue in Sheriff Octavia Johnson's bid for re-election in November.
Johnson should have to answer to voters about why she authorized the voluntary training without knowing all that it entailed.
She also needs to explain her assertion that she had done so with the approval of the four-person board that had oversight of the Regional Firearms Range.
Roanoke County's two representatives have said they voted against the sniper training, and county officials said they were shocked to learn, weeks after the fact, that it had occurred anyway and involved a life-endangering exercise.
The county, which owns the Dixie Caverns firing range and driving track that the two localities have been sharing, was worried about liability if injuries or deaths resulted from inappropriate use.
County officials cannot be faulted for backing out of the deal. Success in a joint operation of this nature requires mutual trust that the localities obviously do not share.
To be fair, that cannot be laid solely on Johnson's shoulders. Disputes over appropriate use and practices did not start with her swearing-in as sheriff in 2006.
City and county officials have been unable to work out bylaws for the training center since it opened in 2001, and county letters to the city indicate the sniper training was just a final point of contention that broke the relationship.
Johnson's handling of the training decision and its fall-out, though, have created a legitimate election issue for the Republican incumbent, who will face Democrat Frank Garrett and independent Brian Keenum at the polls.
