Secret Police in Virginia? Bill SB552 Being Considered Now

Virginia Senate Bill SB 552, which would exempt police and fire marshals from mandatory disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act , has passed the Senate and is now under committee in the Virginia House of Delegates.  The sponsor of the bill is Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, who, according to the The Virginia-Pilot, said he worked on the bill with the Fraternal Order of Police and Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.  In fact, Cosgrove stated that the bill was proposed because a reporter from the Virginia-Pilot requested police names to track the interdepartmental transfers  of officers who get in trouble. 

Reporters Harki and Wilson from the Virginia Pilot said Senator Coscrove said police officer safety was a concern in making names available, but could not provide an instance where availability of names led to endangering of an officer.

The Washington Post quotes Senator Cosgrove as saying:

 The culture is not one of respect for law enforcement anymore.  It’s really, ‘How, how can we get these guys? What can we do?’ . . . Police officers are much more in jeopardy. There’s no nefarious intent behind the bill. 

Virginians can locate their state delegates at Who’s My Legislator