Arrogant, Abusive Fighters Invade American Homes

It continues: Fighters have allegedly abused Americans, invaded their homes, used false evidence, and have recklessly engaged in non-sense investigations.

This isn't Iraq. This is America.

[Direct link: Use this URL -- http://tinyurl.com/yk5eny ] Thoughts on A.J. Nuckols in re 18 USC 2234.

Added: Draft Indictment/Criminal Allegations in re Blue Ridge Thunder; Discovery: Grand Jury and House/Senate Judiciary.

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The Neighborhood

I wasn't surprised at all. This happens all the time in Iraq. War crimes have been going on for years. But this time it was different. American citizens were given the opportunity to experience first hand what happens in Iraq every day.

Imagine my surprise to discover that one of our neighbors had been taken hostage, treated abusively, and forcibly interrogated. Imagine the surprise I had when I learned that armed thugs invaded a civilian home, and forcibly threatened and accused children.

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Overview

The information below relates to what may be relevant to a 42 USC 1983 claim against the officials involved. Please note prior Federal Appeals case of mistaken identity in re 42 USC 1983, Wiika: [ 7 Fed. Appx. 275, April 23, 2001, Decided; "Lieutenant Wiita is also entitled to qualified immunity with respect to the state false imprisonment claim" ]

The links go to public information identifying who may ultimately be targeted during the investigation. You'll find a pattern of abuse. The law enforcement entities involved were related to some moral, manning, and training issues in the early 2000. Also, there was a fatal shooting incident in the early 21st Century.

Based only on the letter which Mr. Nuckols released for publication, and the various links, it appears as though the computer error was related to an ongoing intelligence gathering operation run out of Virginia. The entity is run out of a location 3.5 hours from Washington DC, and it is well connected with former military and CIA officials.

Of interest by way of contrasting how Nuckols was treated, Blue Ridge Thunder Supervisor Capt. Rick Wiita did a use of force study while working on his academic studies with the University of TN, kw="wiita" below. Ask if Wiita completed his EMT recertification, due for renewal June 2006. Also, data from HUNTs organization [ idsscan.com ] includes quotes from Wiita.

Blue Ridge Thunder is reported to request evidence through FED EX. It remains unclear whether FED EX has been used to avoid issues with US mails-related litigation.

It remains to be understood how the errors which Mr. Nuckols reports were repeated in the domestic rendition program; and how the apparent reckless government oversight of this activity may have directly contributed to illegal war crimes and prisoner abuse committed at overseas CIA detention centers.

Other known efforts to review errors include a letter written October 20, 1999 [ Ref Ref ]

Summary Links

These are some links that may be useful while you review the material below.

(1) Prior Litigation

(a) Elizabeth Kay Dillon, GUYNN & DILLON, P.C., ROANOKE, VA:
- Civ. Action No. 7:99-00275; June 12, 2000,
=[ Decided; ROBERT DAVID BROWN, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL J. BROWN, J.W. QUARLES, KEVIN M. ADAMS, RICK WIITA;
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ROANOKE DIVISION ]

(b) 7 Fed. Appx. 275

U.S. Court of Appeals For The Fourth Circuit
Oral Argument Calendar
Richmond, Virginia
Monday, February 26, 2001
9:30 a.m.
00-1886 Robert Brown v. Rick Wiita
CIVIL RIGHTS. Challenge to denial of qualified immunity to
a law enforcement officer in an action alleging mistaken
identity arrest.

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(2) Evidence

Ref These are the codes for the VA government records related to electronic data storage, personnel records, incidents, certification records, drug screening, grants, and facility costs. This data will identity where the undisclosed location is in Lynchburg, the training status of the strike team, and whether there were proper audits.

Ref These are the records points of contact in Lynchburg and Bedford County financial offices, human resources, law enforcement, and government attorney offices. The points of contact can provide copies of the DoJ Grant numbers; and identify the funding codes on the audit reports. Using the correct GAIN Code, it's possible to get floor plans for the undisclosed facility, information on the information architecture in place, telephone directories and office symbols, e-mail address indexes, and the copy of IP numbers for the individual computers at Blue Ridge Thunder.

A. Lynchburg, Attorney, Sheriff’s, Treasurer’s Offices GAIN Code: L0680

B. Bedford County Sheriff’s, Attorney GAIN Code: L0019

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(3) Officer online training

Ref Here are the instructions showing on page 2 that only supervisors may enroll students in the Central Virginia Law enforcement academy. Supervisors would have to know which of the members of the Blue Ridge Thunder strike team were or were not assigned to a given class. The electronic data monitors student progress, test scores, and shows whether they have completed the learning objectives with the quizzes, 70% passing, no notes allowed.

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(4) Audits

Hunt's [ www.idss.net ] reports audits: DoJ Audit 8/2003; DEA Audit June 04, 2004.

Ref Electronic records file schedules. [Computer Access: Series 100064] [Computer Testing: Series 100065]

Ref Auditor code of conduct

Ref VA State auditor guidelines on conducting IT audits.

Ref See question #51 to see the relevant IT audit checklist for the intelligence operation: "Is there a clearly articulated system for assessing source reliability and content validity?"

Ref VA Chapter of "Information Systems Audit and Control Association" [ISACA], providing assistance and training for systems audits. The issue will be to explore whether the auditors assigned to the state and county audit teams had sufficient training and sampling to identify this risk; whether the problems were known; and how the State Law Enforcement Oversight Board did or did not review the known risks and develop an appropriate plan with local authorities.

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(5) Personnel conflicts, risks

Ref Personnel records, series 100485. [Certification: 100477 ] [Drug Screening: 100480 ] [Incident reports: Series 100492 ]

Ref Mistakes made when outsourcing -- may have been a contributing factor. One of the people on the investigation team allegedly is an owner of an IT company which provides data support to the strike team: Larry Hunt, chairman and CEO of Integrated Digital Systems/ScanAmerica; [ RWiita ] is the sign-in name for Capt William Rick Wiita to this system; Hunt's sign-in name is [ ldhunt ].

Ref Some of the members on the strike team have prior military experience, and have been associated with the VA prison system. It remains to be understood how these DoJ IG report on the VA prison abuses have a bearing on the officer conduct, or the abuses A.J. endured.

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(6) Litigation issues

Ref VA rules on reimbursement of Atty Fees during litigation against State.

Ref Discovery rules related to the state auditor, IT systems.

Ref Issues of subpoena power.

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(7) Federal issues

Ref Financial records for Grants. [Accounts receivable: Series 012083] [Audits of the grants: Series 012085 ] [ Audit reports: Series 012086] [Entity insurance: Series 012109]

Ref AJ was attacked by a strike team funded by a Federal Govt. grant, Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. This means that the Federal government has some oversight responsibility; remains to be seen how the DOJ Inspector General, and/or the House/Senate Judiciary committees ultimately review this situation.

Verify these numbers: Capt. Rick Wiita of Blue Ridge Thunder said task force members use federal guidelines for their per diems. He said $54 is a typical per diem amount, but it will vary by city [ 3/24/2005 ]

Sample Financial DoJ-BRT Funding Trace:

Using known funding, it's possible to trace the responsiveness of the archive, auditor, and filing systems. $67,273.00, per Lynchburg Ordinance #37428-061906, from a DoJ Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, 2005- 2006 Grant Fund Appropriations. Another sample, which involves the Lynchburg Attorney is Resolution 37429-061906, Mobile Data Terminal.

For purposes of evidence and exhibits, you can trace the funds back to DOJ; then use the DOJ disbursement point in DC to find the funds going to the Blue Ridge Thunder Team, and the facility where the operations are managed, including electronic data storage, and other fund codes.

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(8) Law Enforcement Data Exchange [ LEDX ] Database

LEDX is similar to Intel link, containing files, guidelines, and procedures. It will be important to compare the documented procedures vs. what the team did. LEDX, according to Wiita, contains:

bulletin boards, conference schedules, calendars, agency reports, member (task force) reporting, member (task force) submissions, ICAC policies, procedures and standards, quarterly board minutes, an incident-reporting system, legal library, major cases section, DoJ reports and resource information, such as presentations, which are submitted by various task forces. There is also a training section for law-enforcement officers, and a section that lets states store their own reports and data [ 5/2/2003 ]

Note: The information is from: www.idsscan.com/corporate/news/2003/05_02.asp , the same organization that matches LARRY HUNT, another Blue Ridge Thunder Team member. [KW ="HUNT" below]

Other idssrv.idsscan sign-ins include [First, Last Name]:

blemaste - Brian Lemaster
khon - Khon Phou
Van Black - Van Black
rahulb - Rahul Bhatnagar
john.albrett -- John Albrett

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Details

There are many contrasts in this case. The county attorney has various programs related to protecting youth. The sad irony is that the programs appear to have done just what they were designed to prevent: Abuse against children and the innocent.

Ref: 392 of 563 It's a problem when the Country Attorney is listed as a POC for domestic violence, but the personnel apparently under their supervision allegedly engage in domestic violence. Suggests the County attorney had a duty, but failed to meet the oversight and supervision requirements. When was the last time the team had training on domestic violence, as they allegedly committed by illegally abusing and interrogating innocent children. [Listed Address: Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney Office Phone: 434-432-7900 Fulltime Congressional Dist: 5 PO Box 1068 Chatham VA 24531-1068 Office Fax 434-432-0413 ]

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It is not unknown for moral, training, and budgeting problems to translate into ineffective oversight, poor investigations, and flawed management. Law enforcement leadership is known to promise to investigate training and performance problems, but do nothing to solve the problem. Subsequent reviews, audits, and investigations may yield inconsistent stories on whether investigations were or were not completed; and whether personnel were or were not appropriately supervised or trained. The problem is not isolated to the local community, but crosses horizontally across all American institutions, and vertically from the local to the Federal level. The current war crimes investigations against the President are symptomatic of this problem.

Ref How many Virginia residents have been retaliated against for reporting misconduct by the squad? [McCloud Case; $2M settlement]

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There is an issue of secret databases, poor court oversight, and an attitude within government and law enforcement that they know how to do things best. The rendition and NSA surveillance programs have defied this nation.

Nuckols incident reveals flaws with the civilian databases, and these errors do translate into false detentions, incorrect warrants, and unreasonable targeting of innocents. Ref How many similar errors are there in the FBI, DoJ, DHS databases, used to target Americans for warrantless interrogations?

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The broader implications should not be missed. Nuckols' report outlines the transnational implications. Just as Iraqi civilians have been illegally abused in Abu Ghraib, so too have Afghanis and other innocent civilians been abused in Guantanamo. The common problem is the illegal approach of using an accusation, not bonafide evidence, to impose extra-judicial punishment, without adequate supervision and audits by leadership and the third branch of government.

Nuckol's well illustrates the danger of letting government detain the accused without evidence. Had habeas not been an option, Nuckols and others stand the illegal prospect of being indefinitely detained on the basis of evidence that is incorrect, based only on accusations. This defies American values and our nation's sad history. It was the same abuse which sparked the American Revolution; and the same abuses which inspire the Iraqi insurgency to oppose an illegal invasion, and similar abuses at the hands of American troops.

Rendition, Eastern Europe: Ref How have similar errors been factored into alleged war crimes, prisoner mistreatment, and other abuses against prisoners. How was similarly corrupted data used to illegally detain and abuse innocents in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan or other locations? How was the support infrastructure -- those attorneys and other non-directly involved -- used as the basis to illegally target, abuse, and commit other outrages against Attorneys representing the clients?

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Because of manning problems in the late 20th and early 21st Century, some counties rely on electronic training, and have less time and manpower to provide one-on-one field training. We may be seeing the effects of rapidly expanding a training program, without the needed oversight and direct supervisor-trainee needed.

Ref Please discuss the use of on-line training to certify, test, and monitor personnel assigned to the unit conducting the allegedly illegal, abusive raid on American civilians in Gretna, Virginia.

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Of concern are the lessons from Iraq. It remains to be understood whether Nuckols treatment is related to infantry training which former American fighters acquired while serving in Iraq. It is unclear whether US troops, formerly given latitude to conduct abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, have returned stateside to impose similar justice on American civilians.

28th Infantry Division: Please include a roster of all law enforcement personnel assigned to the raid, supervisor training, and information related to any 28th Infantry Division involvement. Please include training, experience, and other information related to combat experience in Iraq; or other weapons training personnel assigned to the online monitoring team have indirectly or directly received from the DOJ, CIA, and DoD. [Note Bedford Cty Sherriff has CIA experience.]

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There are former US military personnel assigned to the team. It remains to be understood why the 5100.77 Laws of War Program -- which prevents abuse -- has not been injected into the training. Nuckols account suggests that the 5100.77 standards in DoD have not been well embraced by troops; and that local law enforcement believes that the accused can be abused, just as any prisoner in Eastern Europe, Abu Ghraib, or Guantanamo. Americans may hear more anecdotes of abuses by law enforcement formerly assigned to Iraq.

5100.77 War Crimes Training for 28th Infantry Division

Allegedly, the officers, contractors, and supervisors involved have engaged in illegal assaults against minors. Ref Please discuss how the internet monitoring team can credibly conduct its job when it views this treatment as acceptable: Alleged forced assault on children; alleged mistreatment of children; and alleged forced abuse at gunpoint. Does the internet monitoring team have pictures, experience, training from Iraq related to similar activity; how effective were these procedures when employed against Iraqi civilians; to what extent have the officers involved with this alleged illegal raid been trained on the laws of war, protection of civilians, and the 5100.77 Laws of War Program. Is there a "lessons learned" from the Military Commissions Bill that says it is permissible for American law enforcement to treat American civilians no better or worse than prisoners at GTMO are treated? To what extent are American civilians targeted, abused, and otherwise mistreated for purposes of inciting them to complain, comment, or report misconduct -- only to use their reasonable report as an excuse to further target, abuse, and mistreat American civilians and children? Ref

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The problem is not just local. Nuckols account should be looked at in terms of what the President refused to permit in re the NSA surveillance investigation. Recall, the President and Attorney General refused to permit the DOJ Office of Professional responsibility review the DoJ Staff for what they knew about the NSA illegal activity. The same problem may be occurring at the local law enforcement level: DoJ OPR may have been denied the power to review patterns of abuses against Americans on the mistaken assertion that "this is a new era," without any regard for Constitutional protections in the Bill of Rights.

DOJ OPR, DoJ Staff: Ref What efforts, if any, have DOJ personnel, the DOJ AJ, or White House made to block investigations into alleged law enforcement misconduct; or patterns of mistreatment by formerly assigned DoD personnel in committing war crimes-like abuses against American civilians?

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It's not as though American fighters return from Iraq, then immediately begin operations on American streets. In theory, Virginia has an oversight system. A board oversees law enforcement training and policies. This is well established under the Commonwealth of Virginia. It may be interesting to quickly review some of the links associated with this police oversight system.

One of the expectations We the People have is for government and local officials to conduct themselves professionally. One requirement of the board is to promulgate policy that will protect children. [Ref: 45 "45. Establish training standards and publish a model policy and protocols for local and regional sexual assault response teams;"] Please discuss how the board "model" policy and protocols were or were not fully incorporated into the alleged abuse, mistreatment, and unlawful assault on the minors involved. In your response please discuss why the public should have confidence that the online monitoring team should or should not be permitted to continue; why the public should not be believe that the sexual assault response teams may not engage in similar assaults on those they are supposedly protecting. Please discuss how a forced interrogation at gunpoint would be deemed a "professional" conduct by a "sexual assault response team."

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There are police officer training folders. Some communities may try to play games, and block discovery of evidence. This means that they may use their "failure to get training" as an excuse not to allow evidence into litigation. However, VA state law has a rule associated with this.

Evidence: Ref "Failure to complete the training shall not, for that reason, constitute grounds to exclude otherwise properly admissible testimony or other evidence from such officer resulting from any undercover investigation;"

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What we do know, according to Nuckol's letter, is that BTF is involved. This is an internet strike force that engages in intelligence gathering, is supported by DoJ, and is given wide latitude to arrest and detain people. They have a team at an undisclosed location 3.5 hours from DC. This team, in theory, is subject to state law and the oversight of the Board.

BRT Oversight: Please provide the plan of the board to oversee, randomly audit, and ensure the officer-investigator conduct met state requirements. Ref

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The curious thing about the VA state laws is the training standard. They have specific requirements that law enforcement learn about cultural issues, but there's little discussion on the basic issues: Whether teenage girls will or will not be respected, despite their inherent Constitutional rights to be free from government intrusion and abuse.

Sensitivity Training: [Ref: 38, 39, 40] The board is required to develop, publish, and update guidelines related to sensitivity training. Please discuss how the board ensured that BTF personnel were trained on issues of dealing with minors under custodial care during interrogations. Was there more interest in giving attention to civilians who were of one ethnic group, but insufficient training to deal with minors?

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Local law enforcement is also subject to audits by the state police oversight board. it remains to be understood whether these audits have been done; the results; and how the audit results did or did not affect operations. recall, there were funding problems, which would -- under auditing standards 99 (Statement on Accounting Standard SAS99) -- require an increase in audit scope.

This audit scope increase means, because of indicators of fraud -- related to turnover, reports of problems, and budget problems -- that the state auditors should have increased audit scope and reported their findings to the state oversight board. It remains to be understood whether the known funding, manning, and training problems triggered the SAS99 assessment; or whether the State Board ignored the indicators and failed to effectively monitor what the open media has well discussed: Problems with manpower, training, and budgets.

Board Audits: Please provide a copy of the audit file plan, and the last time the audit file plan was reviewed by the board. Ref

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In short, it's not looking good for the VA state board. They have a duty, and it appears, based on what little has been disclosed, that the board may have not done what they should have: Increased audit scope, done more no-notice visits, and ensure the known training issues had effective oversight. Nuckol's letter casts doubt on whether the VA State Board was adequately doing their job as they had the duty to do.

Alleged Board Malfeasance: The county has a known manning problem. Please discuss the oversight, increased training, and other issued discussed to ensure personnel were adequately supervised. ["30. Do all things necessary on behalf of the Commonwealth and its units of general local government, to determine and secure benefits available under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-351, 82 Stat. 197), as amended, and under any other federal acts and programs for strengthening and improving law enforcement, the administration of criminal justice, and delinquency prevention and control;" Ref]

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The board isn't left to fend for itself. it has the means to oversee contracts, conduct inquiry, and look at any document.

Board Contract Monitoring: The Board is required to contract with various entitles. please discuss how the board oversaw the database, and training of personnel to meet and satisfy the contract requirements. To what extent were civilians, non-state employees involved with data acquisition, transfer, upload, auditing; how were non-certified employees or civilian contractors used to upload the data, process warrants, or otherwise transcribe information from electronic interceptions of website information, to other formats. [Ref: 33. Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and execution of its powers under this chapter, including but not limited to, contracts with the United States, units of general local government or combinations thereof, in Virginia or other states, and with agencies and departments of the Commonwealth;]

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The other issue is the known error rate within the Intelligence Database. These are part of periodic study and assessments. The Board would have, or should have, included these risks in the contract related to the data management. Whether the warranty did or did not have enough insurance is irrelevant. The issue is that Nuckols' alleged abuse was a known risk; and there should have been a system of controls in place to eliminate this danger. They failed. They must be corrected, or this will happen again.

Error Monitoring: Please show how the board oversaw the database-entry system, what procedures were developed, and all memoranda and policies the board issued related to internal controls, warrants, and data accuracy: ["21. Advise criminal justice agencies and initiate educational programs for such agencies with respect to matters of privacy, confidentiality, and security as they pertain to criminal history record information and correctional status information" Ref]

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The board has a periodic review requirement.

Periodic Plan Review Please provide a copy of the periodic reviews, and discuss the comments made for the last 7 years, prior to the 2000-era incidents. ["25. Develop a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan for strengthening and improving law enforcement and the administration of criminal justice throughout the Commonwealth, and periodically update that plan; " Ref]

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Also, the FBI is involved. They provide oversight, receive complaints, and have databases related to alleged police abuses. It remains to be understood whether the Special Agent in Charge, or the Supervisory Agents in Charge, or those who interface with JTTF knew of patterns o abuse and failed to act; or they blocked information from being reported to the DOJ OPR.

FBI: Agent misbehavior; Dismissed agents. How many times did the FBI ignore/not accept information from the public related to alleged police misconduct during raids? How many DoJ OPR investigations have been blocked into the alleged complaints?

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There can be a pattern of abuse by the State oversight board.

VA Police Oversight Board: Ref Any reports of willful misconduct by the VA Board?

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Once the investigation starts, any law enforcement officer that does not fully cooperate could be decertified.

Law enforcement Which of the personnel allegedly involved in the illegal, abusive raid refused to cooperate, not provide a drug-sample, or were not current on their training? Ref.

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Each law enforcement officer has a training file related to the VA State training at the law enforcement institution.

Training, Certification Files: Please provide an authenticated copy of all personnel on the raid; include in the authentication the training plan, and any notes or comments related to other incidents. Ref

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Law enforcement are also required to have a bond. This is designed to help with litigation costs. There is no need to be worried that they will have to pay for this out of their own pocket. They have insurance, and their homes can be seized to cover the financial damages.

Bonds: How did the officers allegedly fail to "faithfully discharge" their duties? Ref

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Sometimes the board and law enforcement may play games. They can issue statements saying that a requirement has been waived. If that is the case, ask for a copy of the waiver.

Training/Certification Waivers: Please provide a copy of any training, certification, testing, or qualification waivers issued. Ref

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The database has a known error rate. Nothing is perfect. The warranty should have been a part of the state discussion with the insurance company. Whether the error does or does not happen is irrelevant to whether the state does or does not have insurance. They have the money to cover the financial costs associated with the damages and litigation.

Database errors: LEDX Errors: How reasonable were the assumptions; what warranties were included within the original contract?

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The board is supposed to keep focused on their number one job: Ensuring the public is safe. This means removing from the ranks of law enforcement those who are problems. However, sometimes the board gets distracted with other things. This is merely an excuse. The state laws require their focus on the law enforcement, not other things.

Board: Ref Please provide a list of all personnel assigned to the board; and any outside employment they may have, or association with personnel, agencies, or counties involved. Please include a copy of all private membership, any involvement with police or military associations, or other outside employment.

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The interesting thing about the raid is that the attorneys allegedly involved have previously discussed warrants. it's not as though they are clueless on what a warrant is. Consider the language of one of the attorneys in a public memo:

Pittsylvania County Attorney Knew Warrant Requirement

The attorney for the Commonwealth and assistant attorney for the Commonwealth shall be a part of the department of law enforcement of the county or city in which he is elected or appointed, and shall have the duty and powers imposed upon him by general law, including the duty of prosecuting all warrants, indictments or information charging felony and he may in his discretion, prosecute Class 1, 2 and 3 misdemeanors, or any other violation, the conviction of which carries a penalty of confinement in jail, or a fine of $500 or more, or both such confinement and fine 15.2-1627. Duties of attorneys for the Commonwealth and their assistants Pittsvylle County Attorney Opinion: 1997

Virginia State AG Investigation Requirement: Ref

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The sad irony is the BTF action is at odds with their slogan: "to weave a seamless web of protection around our children," by interrogating them at gunpoint?!?

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Of interest is the public testimony of one of the alleged team members. They've testified. You may want to review the testimony, and see if there are some oversight issues; and whether there are management problems. Specifically, if the team members are disturbed by what they see -- as this testimony states -- is there enough assistance? Nuckols letter suggests that the team members are upset by what they see, and are willing to abuse others on the basis.

Brown Testimony Ref: "In my forty-two years of law enforcement experience I don't think I've ever
worked with a more dedicated and professional group of criminal investigators"

I would like to extend a formal invitation to this committee, or
someone on your staff, to drive down to Bedford, it’s only about 3.5 hours
southwest of DC, and visit one of your ICAC task forces, Operation Blue
Ridge Thunder, at their undercover location just outside of Lynchburg,
Virginia. Map

A. What happens to the team after viewing this pornography -- do they become desensitized to violence?

B. After law enforcement vies these images of child pornography, do they get a chance to "wind down," or are they given guns and encouraged to "take out" their aggression on those they happen to raid?

C. What does it feel like to go through psychological counseling after viewing these images; do the officers "get a chance" to discuss their feelings and engage in anger management; or are they encouraged -- as were army personnel at GTMO -- to take out their aggression on the people they interrogate?

D. Have the officers ever punished people that they have detained, hoping they would complain so they can abuse them?

E. What are the officer views of GTMO reports that prisoners were deliberately punished so that they would complaint -- where do you suppose these law enforcement and interrogators learned to do this?

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The other areas to consider are the possible conflicts of interest. There appears to be a conflict: one of the BRT team members is allegedly the CEO of a data provider. This needs to be better understood: Were the audits not done correct because of the conflict; or were there other conflicts that would have prevented or dissuaded adequate board review of the warrant process?

Contractor Database: Note the name matches the name on the BRT team.

Is there a conflict to have the person who is allegedly CEO of the data=support system on the BRT; while also allegedly subject to the investigation, and requires cooperation with the State AG and FBI when reviewing the 42 USC 1983 allegations?

What's going to stop the CEO from destroying the evidence, if it is in the interest of the Sheriff Department to obstruct an investigation; or prevent others from finding out what went wrong?

How much money did the alleged 42 USC 1983 violator get for creating the database?

Here is the potential conflict: This name is on the roster of the team which appears to have conducted the raid into Nuckols' house. It may be someone else.

Larry Hunt,
chairman and CEO of Integrated Digital Systems/ScanAmerica
9817 Godwin Drive. Manassas, Virginia 20110

___ Are the duties as CEO of IDS interfering with law enforcement?

___ Can Hunt explain why Capt Rick Wiita has an IDS ID?

___ Are alleged duties of VA gun Collectors Association interfering?

___ This email is linked with a "Larry Hunt" ldhunt@idsscan.com; is the effort to sell technology to the Air Force a distraction?

___ Can Mr. Hunt explain why a name resembling this firm is on the Office of Secretary of Defense planning meeting of systems acquisition: OSD/ACQ, for the DARS/DTIS list; are these requirements interfering with law enforcement training; or is Mr. Hunt overseeing other personnel; or are the management challenged of the private industry proving to be a conflict from law enforcement obligations?

___ Are the "land title association" duties a distraction from law enforcement?

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There are open admissions of the existence of the intelligence center. This is known, and has been publicly discussed. This facility should be reviewed in terms of (a) did the board personnel adequately visit the location; and (b) are the travel-gas reimbursements of the board, auditors, and law enforcement supervisors consistent with what would be required to adequately oversee.

The issue is one of consistency: If they claim that they have reviewed the procedures, or have done investigations based on the known SAS99 problems, we should see two things: (1) effective procedures; and (2) evidence of oversight, corrections, and active documentation related to the board-auditor-law enforcement oversight. The results in Nuckols' show something failed.

Distances: Distance from the secure location is only 3.5 hours from DC, but Bedford County is on the other side of the state.

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One thing you may want to explore are the apparent conflicts the attorneys have had in other cases, but were explained away. A quick review of some of the reported attorney case files suggests there is a pattern with conflicts. This may not be directly related, but suggests they may have earlier avoided some needed oversight. This remains to be understood.

Bedford County Attorney [ LGA: Local Government Atty]

Carl Boggess
County Attorney
122 East Main Street Ref
Suite 201
Bedford, VA 24523
540 587-5699

Extension: 1287
Fax: 540 586-9117
c.boggess@co.bedford.va.us
mail.co.bedford.va.us. 65.216.163.4


[ 236 Va. 403 ] future dangerousness -- seems applicable in this situation: Until the database problem is fixed, how many more American citizens should expect to be interrogated at gunpoint on the basis of errors?

[ 228 Va. 347 ] "conduct was the proximate cause of the accident" -- was the County attorney reckless in failing to ensure the law enforcement officials were trained?


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Nicole McCabe
Legal Secretary
County Attorney
122 East Main Street
Suite 201
Bedford, VA 24523
540 587-5699

Extension: 1301
Fax: 540 586-9117
n.mccabe@co.bedford.va.us

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Of interest are the military, DoJ- and CIA-related backgrounds of the officers assigned. This isn't simply an issue of "Iraqi prisoner-like" abuse, but whether there are conflicts that would not respond to outside law enforcement oversight. It's one thing for a sheriff to claim to be a leader of an association; quite another to have a problem under his watch, but not appear to manage it. Results, not simple job title are important.

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Below, you'll find the names of the people identified and may be the subject of this investigation. Their fax numbers, e-mail accounts, and IP numbers are publicly available, and can be the subject for discovery to explore training problems, or post-event discussions. These are admissible. It remains to be understood whether these are destroyed. There is a probable cause to review these records because of the early 2000-era training, oversight, and budget issues: SAS99 indicators which auditors, the board, and law enforcement management should have documented.

BRT: Alleged Co-Conspirators in 42 USC 1983 violations

The department serves as a coordinator for more than 130 police agencies training to combat Internet crimes in the Untied States.

Sheriff Mike Brown Bedford County, Virginia Sheriff

2004: 72 sworn officers.

Captain William Wiita
Special Investigation Division
Bedford County Sheriff's Office.
1345 Falling Creek Road. Bedford, VA 24523.
P - 434-534-0661. F - 434-534-0663. rwiita@bedfordsheriff.org
65.216.163.4 mail.co.bedford.va.us Ref
Eldest daughter: Officer, Lynchburg City Police Department

Started law enforcement career 1980, Florida: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office: Uniformed Patrol, the Mounted Unit, Juvenile Services and Special Field Forces.

Masters degree in sociology at Longwood University, earning above 3.5 in 2004.
William "Rick" Wiita reported to have completed South Eastern Command and Leadership Academy, held at the University of Tennessee, where he was invited to teach leadership. While a student:

Wiita did an analysis on the Sheriff's Office's policy on use of force. Wiita said that the Sheriff's Office's idea is to apply force according to the amount of resistance that a deputy is getting from the person who he is trying to arrest. [Bedford Bulletin: 3/31/2004 ]

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Lieutenant Mike Harmony Special Investigation Division; Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce Board Vice Chairman

Reserve Lieutenant Larry Hunt Special Investigation Division; Internet Crimes Against Childern [stet] (ICAC) Law Enforcement Data Exchange (LEDX) Administrator

Investigator Rodney Thompson
Special Investigation Division;
Blue Ridge Thunder (BRT) Investigator
Name possibly associated with: Rodney Thompson. Tarrant County CSCD. 200 W. Belknap. Fort Worth, Texas 76196. Ph: (817)884-1483. Fx: (817)884-2458

Investigator Kyle Williams Special Investigations Division Blue Ridge Thunder (BRT) Investigator

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Another area to look at is the federal oversight of DOJ funding. Once DoJ sends funds to a local community, they are supposed to do audits. We need to see those FBI-DoJ audits, and identify whether the FBI-DoJ OPR knew of any training, management, or other oversight issues related to apparent funding problems; and whether these known problems were or were not contributing factors to what Nuckols encountered.

Bedford County Sheriff: Mike Brown

County officials received DOJ funding for COPS/OJP.

Michael J. Harmony currently supervises the Bedford County; Lieutenant Mike Harmony 540-586-4800

Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,. Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, which uses a LOCATER system:

Mike Harmony, an investigator with Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, the department's computer crimes division, demonstrated LOCATER. He opened the template, scanned a photograph, typed in the "child's" vital statistics and printed an 8 ½-by-11 color poster in less than three minutes. Another mouse click sent the alert out by e-mail, activating a chime on the computer. "See how fast that is," he said. "As soon as I open my e-mail box, it's there."

Lt. Michael J. Harmony (Mike) began his law enforcement career with the U.S. Army, serving with the 523rd Military Police Corps. After leaving the military he continued his law enforcement career with the Troy City Police Department in Troy, NC. . . .In 1992 he began his career with the Bedford County Sheriff's Office as a corrections officer at the Bedford County Jail Annex. Mike is also a Present National Board Member of ICAC, (Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, U.S. Department of Justice). Mike has served in several areas with the Sheriff's Office and is certified in corrections, civil process, courtroom security, general instructor, and as an accident reconstructionist. Sergeant Harmony officially joined the Operation Blue Ridge Thunder Task Force in 1999.

Lieutenant Mike Harmony Special Investigation Division

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Of interest are the statement by law enforcement about how perpetrators engage targets. The sad irony is that the same abuses committed by those under surveillance are apparent in the Nuckols letter. it remains to be understood how the patterns of abuse of the perpetrators have been institutionalized within the strike force. This is a management, training, and oversight issue which the board should be aware, have a plan for, and should be able to mitigate through rotation, oversight, and effective down time. What they actually did remains an issue of evidence.

Grooming the Public to Tolerate Home Invasions

This squad is doing exactly what pedophiles do: Grooming the public to put up with more abuse:

"The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children describes a phenomenon called "grooming," where a molester uses sexualized images of children to break down their inhibitions about having sex. "I've seen the grooming," said Harmony. "One way or another, it's an attempt at exploitation."

What kind of fantasies in Iraq did these troops have before returning to America to inflict the same abuses against Americans?

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Again, the Sherriff's e-mail, phone, and other communication methods can be lawfully seized and introduced into evidence. The early 2000-era issues are a basis to broaden the inquiry beyond the strike team, and look at management oversight, and the board communications with law enforcement.

Operation Blue Ridge Thunder. c/o Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. Phone: (540) 586-4800. E-mail: blueridgethunder@co.bedford.va.us

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The open media reports that one of the senior management was formerly associated with the CIA. We've read the reports of rendition, and the CIA methods used in Eastern Europe. It remains to be understood how these CIA-connections have or have not generated creative methods to enforce the law. Nuckols' letter suggests the CIA tactics used in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and Eastern Europe are alive in American communities. This is unfortunate, but foreseeable. The issue is whether States are willing to manage this problem; or whether the State level citizens have to suffer more abuses before they realize that state officials may lawfully prosecute the President, and possibly end these CIA-related tactics from being used against American civilians.

The Sheriff former CIA, is a former army vet from Vietnam. Have they aligned forces with the Iraq-war vets to spread carnage against Americans -- didn't have "enough time" to go after the Viet Cong?

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Again, as you read the websites, you'll see one thing: A nice image, which contradicts what Nuckols experienced. This is disturbing and shocking.

What a joke, the team abused the children to "protect" them:

The Mission of Operation Blue Ridge Thunder is to safeguard our children from Internet crime by "weaving a seamless web of protection" around them, across the nation and around the globe. A child's innocence can never be replaced.

What a joke, the Sheriff's office claims to be committed to excellence:

We remain steadfast in our commitment to excellence for today... and preparedness for tomorrow.Ref Contact Info Map

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The other incident is the fatal shooting in 2000, which raises questions about what might have been a recurring problem in the Nuckols incident. It will be unfortunate to find that the early 2000-era abuses repeated themselves. What follows are the SAS99 indicators related to risks, manning shortages, and budget constraints, and factors that should have been factored into the audit and board assessments. Whether they were remains a separate relevant issue

Pittsylvania County Sheriff

Pittsvylle Sheriff G. Harold Plaster, pcso@pittgov.org

216.146.51.18 -- barracuda.pittgov.org Ref

Will there be a credible, independent investigation; or will someone cover for the Sherriff: 2003, "County Sheriff Harold Plaster was sworn in as president of the Virginia Sheriff's Association."

How many prior shootings have there been on "communications" problems: "Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster is not releasing the names of the two deputies involved in the Saturday shooting death of a mentally ill man." "Allen Lee Carter, 51, was shot in the backyard of his home at 775 Whispering Pines Road at approximately 1:30 p.m. after two deputies responded to a complaint of a domestic dispute involving a knife" [Investigated by Virginia State Police, 2004]

How many of the people on the raid were on medication? "Carter had been undergoing treatment involving medication, but was unable to determine the last time Carter had taken the medicine." [3/30/2004, Danville Register Bee] It's OK to abuse American civilians and retaliate against them for errors, but he's not releasing officer names in 2004: "Plaster says he wants to protect the deputies from possible retaliation."

How many lawmakers carry guns?

Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster says lawmakers are putting families at risk by not making public safety a budget priority. . . .we have deputy sheriffs that are on food stamps, and even qualify for free lunches for their children

Plaster, who took office in 1992, was unsuccessfully challenged by former Hurt Police Chief Ricky D. Moorefield in the 2000 election. A native of Patrick County, Plaster grew up in Henry County and graduated from Bassett High School in 1964. Plaster joined the Virginia State Police at age 21 and served as a trooper in Prince William and Pittsylvania counties. Plaster earned his bachelor's degree in administration of justice from Averett College in 1979. Plaster and his wife, Mary Ann, live in Brosville.

Risk Factors

"With 1,000 square miles to cover, we're spread pretty thin," Sheriff Harold Plaster said Monday, estimating each one of his deputies is responsible for a 25-square-mile chunk of the county. . . . Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster has said his department is understaffed and underfunded. Plaster noted he loses a lot of deputies to other law enforcement agencies because he can't compete with the salaries they offer. . . . Dooley and Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster have both voiced concerns about understaffed and underfunded departments . . . 2004: "He's got 10 or 12 positions open that he can't fill, and he's trying to get qualified people in here," County Administrator Dan Sleeper said of the Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster. . . .Plaster said the department is still 11 deputies understaffed, resulting long response times.

Plaster argues the situation is made even worse by the loss of experienced law enforcement officers to higher paying markets. In his presentation before the finance committee, Plaster said that since deputies' salaries have been frozen, the county has lost a total of 74 years experience. "I don't want to get to the point that I'm funding my own operations with radars. I'm not going to do that," he said. "The citizens elected you to govern the whole county and part of that is public safety."

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There are the election issues. Is there an explanation why this type of abuses occurs, but the leadership is unopposed?

Campaign: Danville Vice Mayor R. Wayne Williams, Linda Dalton, Luis Abreu, Frances Hurt and Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster each gave $500 to Kilgore.

Election: "Sheriff Harold Plaster received 10,144 votes, commissioner of revenue Sam Swanson received 8,000 and treasurer Shirley Simpson garnered 7,963" "Plaster, who took office in 1992, was unsuccessfully challenged by former Hurt Police Chief Ricky D. Moorefield in the 2000 election. " 2003: "Pittsylvania County Sheriff Harold Plaster, who is running unopposed, has only spent $38 for a post office box" 2000: "Harold Plaster Sheriff, Pittsylvania County Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office P.O. Box 407 Chatham, VA 24531 phone : (804) 432-7800 fax : (804) 432-7823"

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This section goes into some discussion on the attorneys who have had case issues. These were resolved, but you may find some patterns of interest and relevance: Proper withdrawal, prior communications, no court sanctions. Were some needed?

Pittsylvania County Attorney: barracuda.pittgov.org. 216.146.51.18 Ref

Ittsvylle County Attorney:

Les Adams, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney, 434-432-7976, LAdams@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18

Allison Dolan Administrative Assistant I, 434-432-7900, ADolan@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18

David Grimes, Commonwealth Attorney, 434-432-7900, DGrimes@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18 [1998 Va. App. LEXIS 572 -- Prior contact with defendant not timely raised],

Bryan Haskins, Deputy Chief Assistant Commonwealth Attorney, 434-432-7900, BHaskins@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18 [ Similar name with : Turner, Haskins & Whitfield, P.L.C; 22 Va. App. 673 (Client unlawfully entering store with intent to commit burglary); GIBSON v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, December 16, 1997, Decided; Record No. 2783-96-3 (evidence sufficient to prove client acted with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill another); 259 Va. 816: "the court ruled correctly that the issues raised by Turner's claim of the ineffective assistance of counsel [ Haskins] should be decided in habeas corpus proceedings" -- Haskins applied for a job with Cty Atty office while representing client ]

Claudette Robertson, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney, 434-432-7900, crobertson@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18

Dwight Rudd, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney, 434-432-7900, drudd@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18

Brenda White, Administrative Assistant II, 434-432-7898, bwebb@pittgov.org, 216.146.51.18

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Beware Americans

Your children are not safe. Your leaders are reckless. You can be abused on the basis of accusation, not credible evidence.

The police need better oversight. We the People need to know:

- How many of the law enforcement on this raid were formerly assigned to similar missions in Iraq with the 28th Infantry Division, other combat units, other special weapons teams, or with the CIA?

- Where are the no-notice audit visits by the State Police Oversight Boards?

- Where are the FBI records related to complaints?

- How much firepower has local police been given in exchange for providing the JTTF with information?

- How many special agents in Charge and US Attorneys know about the police recklessness, but have failed to ensure that warrants are based on real information?

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Errors on warrants are not new. The problem is when those "errors" are used as pretexts.

This farmer hadn't committed any crime. But suppose that there was another error -- anything the police found could have been used to seize other evidence, despite the original error.

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Thigs like this were behind the American revolution.

This is outrageous.

[ Direct link to this content: http://tinyurl.com/yk5eny ] May you remember the name of A.J. Nuckols and his family when you continue to assert your will to lawfully protect the Constitution? Contact your friends, your neighbors who you may not know, encourage them to call local officials and state leadership: We can work together to make sure A. J. Nuckols gets the answers to why this happened, and make sure this does not happen again.

It should never have happened. Not this much force on the basis of a simple error. Alot had to fail, most of all the apparently reckless leadership within the police department and the State Board which oversees law enforcement.

- Where else has this happened?

- How many errors are there?

- Is there only going to be real concern when someone is dead?

American citizens need to move quickly and lawfully work with your friends to end this non-sense. Get your state and local officials to commit to you in writing, and in the media where they stand on lawfully using state power to end this non-sense, and lawfully prosecute the man who is permitting these Constitutional violations to be committed.

If you don't act, you could be next. Don't wait.

What You Can Do

(1) State Prosecution of Leadership

It's time to impose lawful justice on law enforcement. Contact your state attorney general in your state, and ask them when they will use this incident as one more piece of evidence to show that American leaders are out of control, and that they have utter contempt for our Constitution.

Encourage your state officials to lawfully use the legal process to bring charges against all who are reckless in their duties.

Ask you state officials when they will use the legal process to lawfully prosecute state and federal officials for failing to do their jobs. Yes, a sitting president can be prosecuted by your state officials. I encourage you to talk with your friends, and ask your local and state officials when they plan to work with the American legal community to use this incident as the catalyst to lawfully prosecute the President and other officials for their reckless failure to preserve our Constitution.

(2) Learn the Law

Recall Justice Scalia's words when he refused to take action on police no-knock abuse: He said the threat of legal sanctions would act as a check on power. He's been proven wrong. We've had the abuse despite 42 USC 1983.

(3) Work to Disbar US Attorneys

The US Attorneys oversee the FBI agents. American can lawfully work with their state officials to identify which state attorney disciplinary boards the US Attorneys and DOJ Staff are assigned.

Your job, in light of the pervasive pattern of abuse, war crimes, and other reckless DoJ Staff-sanctioned conduct, is to (a) identify which DOJ Staff are assigned to your state; and (b) lawfully work with your state attorney general to investigate the abuses which the DOJ Staff attorneys and US Attorneys have permitted, and lawfully investigate their failure to prevent these types of abuses. Here is a list of lawyers who may have something to do with DOJ abuse of power.

(4) Learn the lessons of others.

Learn more here.

(5) Learn About Your State Police, Attorney Oversight

Each state has attorney and police oversight. We need straight answers which legal counsel didn't do their job, and who has the training problem. Here is the VA oversight for Pittsylvania, VA where this took place. This is starting to sound like the House page scandal: Who knew, where was the board, or were they asleep?

Here is the VA State Disciplinary Board which can investigate whether the country attorney has a problem. Feel free to inquire, and share with others whether you are or are not getting help. The Attorneys can be lazy.

Attorneys have the responsibility to ensure police officers know the law, follow procedures, and comply with their procedures. The attorneys have a responsibility to be competent -- it's there job. How many times have they ignored complaints; is there a track record of complaints against this attorney; how many other citizens in this city have raised concerns, only to be yelled at, or not have the issues investigated?

The city, county, municipalities, and Burroughs have insurance. Insurance companies provide training. There is no excuse for these kinds of problems. They get rewarded with lower insurance premiums if they have better training. Let's look at the insurance coverage for the city, and find when the officials were given training on these issues; and why it apparently didn't sink in.

States have police oversight boards and training programs. They teach police officers how to gather evidence, how to ensure things are correct, and teach them how to follow checklists. They also provide on the job training, conduct field visits, and have supervisors. There is no excuse for this much firepower to have been used against a simple error.

Type in your state before this search string to find out more about who oversees your state police; and find out whether they are aware of this incident. Your job is to find out if they have a plan in place to ensure these types of errors will not occur, or will be caught before another innocent American is threatened, abused, interrogated.

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Original Opinion

Do ‘computer police' have too much power?

I am a local farmer; my wife teaches elementary school; our three children are well adjusted, “A” students.

We go to church, work hard, and pay our bills and taxes.

We are law-abiding, responsible members of society; we have never had reason to fear the law.

On Saturday morning, Sept. 23, 2006, many police vehicles appeared in our driveway. Men in black with flak jackets ran to and around our house.

My wife was at home alone. I drove up and asked, “What's going on?”

Men ran at me, dropped into shooting position, double-handed semi-automatic pistols pointed at me, and made me put my hands against my truck.

I was held at gunpoint, searched, taunted, and led into the house. I had no idea what this was about. I was scared beyond description. I feared there had been a murder and I was a suspect.

My wife and I were interrogated about Internet crime. We are not avid computer users; we do not even e-mail. We knew nothing of what they were speaking.

After seemingly convincing them of our computer “illiteracy,” we were questioned about our children and made to doubt their innocence.

Our home was searched by a para-military search-and-seizure team.

Our computers, digital camera, disposable cameras, DVD's, and VHS tapes were seized.

We were held in our home under guard for five hours.

Our children came home and were also interrogated.

It was awful. We were accused of horrible crimes, crimes that even the mention of would ruin our reputations.

The investigation was to be complete within six to nine months. We were in shock.

At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 2, the chief investigator of Pittsylvania County returned our possessions and said that the wrong IP (computer) address had been identified. We would not be charged.

Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Department, Bedford County Sheriff's Department and Blue Ridge Thunder invaded our peaceful lives with military force based on one piece of wrong digital information.

The investigators did not do their jobs. They did not even know that we had children.

Incompetence? Apathy? Do these computer police have too much power?

No innocent United States citizen should be subjected to this based on so little evidence.

Inexcusable. Civil rights laws have been established to protect the innocent. Our ancestors fought and died for these rights.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause...”

Invading our home with one bit of incorrect evidence was totally unreasonable.

I support the police and their efforts, but I believe every United States citizen should fear and be angry about these tactics.

I will not rest until I know what went wrong in this investigation. I pray that you will not either.

A.J. Nuckols

Gretna