71.2 F
Virginia
Sunday, June 22, 2025

Mike Chapman, Virginia’s Sheriff Keeping Streets Safe Through Enforcement of the Law

Traffic stops and searches of motorists in Loudoun County have increased dramatically the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, sparking complaints from activists and some residents.

Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, ICE, & Keeping You Safe

LCSO, ICE, and Keeping You Safe – Fact versus Fiction  Loudoun County, VA (June 12, 2025): The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) is recognized as a national leader in keeping our residents safe. Serious crime was down an additional 29% in the first quarter of 2025, and Loudoun continues to be the safest locality in the Washington metropolitan region. Unfortunately, LCSO’s commitment to your safety has been mischaracterized by a small number of political activists with a record of opposing public safety. There is fiction, and there are the facts. First, our relationship with U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): FICTION: The LCSO signed a new agreement with ICE to target people based on their immigration status. FACT: The agreement we signed with ICE, not yet in force, applies only to persons already at the Adult Detention Center (ADC) on unrelated criminal charges. It gives ICE extra time (up to 48 hours) to pick up criminal aliens upon their release from custody at our local jail. FICTION: Holding a detainee an extra day or two creates a heavy financial burden on Loudoun’s taxpayers. FACT: Most costs are fixed at our ADC, regardless of the jail population, and the average cost of holding a detainee longer amounts to about $4.50 per day.  Our agreement also provides that ICE will pay for any medical costs associated with that hold. That’s a small price to pay for public safety. Second, traffic enforcement: FICTION: The Latino community is being targeted in motor vehicle stops and searches.  FACT: Increased traffic enforcement is the most frequent request from our Board of Supervisors and the residents we serve, and motor vehicle stops are only conducted by patrol deputies when violations are observed. We have increased those efforts countywide – especially in eastern Loudoun where traffic is the greatest – and the result has been greater public safety.FICTION: Vehicle stops, searches, and arrests should be proportional to demographic population groups. If not, this indicates profiling. FACT:  We deploy our deputies based on data-driven analysis – where calls for service and crime trends are the greatest.  Eastern Loudoun has high population density and diversity, as well as the most traffic, crashes, calls for service and crime, so we deploy more deputies there. This is not profiling, and serious crime in eastern Loudoun was down 30% in the first quarter of this year.FICTION: The LCSO is stopping and searching vehicles based on immigration status. FACT: Vehicles stops and searches are done for cause, and immigration status has nothing to do with it. Vehicles are searched for one of three reasons: when there is probable cause related to potential criminal activity; as part of an inventory following an arrest; or following a request and consent. Our deputies never ask for a person’s immigration status, nor is that information available to them when they make a vehicle stop or arrest. FICTION: Residents are complaining about traffic enforcement in eastern Loudoun. FACT:  The LCSO has received few complaints about traffic enforcement and crime prevention, most of which have been orchestrated by persons with political agendas in conflict with public safety.Third, transparency: FICTION: The LCSO is not transparent with the information it releases. FACT: The LCSO is highly transparent. We regularly report to the community we serve and provide all releasable information in accordance with the Code of Virginia and Freedom of Information Act, and in coordination with the Loudoun County Attorney.  Information about detainers and warrants from other law enforcement agencies for persons arrested in Loudoun on local charges may be requested from those agencies. https://sheriff.loudoun.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=9860LCSO, ICE y su Seguridad - Realidad versus FicciónCondado de Loudoun, Virginia (12 de junio de 2025): La Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Loudoun (LCSO) es reconocida como líder nacional en la seguridad de nuestros residentes. Los delitos graves disminuyeron un 29 % en el primer trimestre de 2025, y Loudoun sigue siendo la localidad más segura del área metropolitana de Washington.Lamentablemente, el compromiso de la LCSO con su seguridad ha sido malinterpretado por un pequeño grupo de activistas políticos con un historial de oposición a la seguridad pública. Hay ficción y hay hechos.Primero, nuestra relación con el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE. UU. (ICE):FICCIÓN: La LCSO firmó un nuevo acuerdo con ICE para identificar a las personas según su estatus migratorio.REALIDAD: El acuerdo que firmamos con ICE, aún no vigente, se aplica únicamente a las personas que ya se encuentran en el Centro de Detención para Adultos (ADC) por cargos penales no relacionados. Le otorga a ICE tiempo adicional (hasta 48 horas) para detener a extranjeros delincuentes tras su liberación en nuestra cárcel local.FICCIÓN: Detener a un detenido uno o dos días más representa una pesada carga financiera para los contribuyentes del Condado de Loudoun.REALIDAD: La mayoría de los costos son fijos en nuestro Centro de Detención para Adultos (ADC), independientemente de la población carcelaria, y el costo promedio de retener a un detenido por más tiempo asciende a aproximadamente $4.50 por día. Nuestro acuerdo también estipula que ICE pagará cualquier costo médico asociado con esa detención. Es un pequeño precio que pagar por la seguridad pública.Segundo, la aplicación de las leyes de tránsito:FICCIÓN: La comunidad latina está siendo blanco de detenciones y registros de vehículos motorizados.REALIDAD: El aumento de las leyes de tránsito es la solicitud más frecuente de nuestra Junta de Supervisores y de los residentes a los que servimos, y las detenciones de vehículos motorizados solo las realizan los agentes de patrulla cuando se observan infracciones. Hemos incrementado estas medidas en todo el condado, especialmente en el este de Loudoun, donde hay mayor tráfico, y el resultado ha sido una mayor seguridad pública. FICCIÓN: Las detenciones, registros y arrestos de vehículos deberían ser proporcionales a los grupos demográficos de la población. De no ser así, esto indica perfilación.REALIDAD: Desplegamos a nuestros agentes basándonos en análisis basados en datos, donde las llamadas de servicio y las tendencias delictivas son mayores. La zona este de Loudoun tiene una alta densidad y diversidad poblacional, así como la mayor cantidad de tráfico, accidentes, llamadas de servicio y delincuencia, por lo que desplegamos más agentes allí. Esto no es perfilación, y la delincuencia grave en la zona este de Loudoun disminuyó un 30 % en el primer trimestre de este año.FICCIÓN: La LCSO detiene y registra vehículos basándose en su estatus migratorio. REALIDAD: Las detenciones y registros de vehículos se realizan con justificación, y el estatus migratorio no tiene nada que ver. Los vehículos se registran por una de tres razones: cuando existe una causa probable relacionada con una posible actividad delictiva; como parte de un inventario posterior a un arresto; o tras una solicitud y consentimiento. Nuestros agentes nunca preguntan por el estatus migratorio de una persona, ni tienen acceso a esa información cuando detienen o arrestan a una persona un vehículo. FICCIÓN: Los residentes se quejan de la aplicación de las leyes de tránsito en el este de Loudoun. REALIDAD: La LCSO ha recibido pocas quejas sobre la aplicación de las leyes de tránsito y la prevención del delito, la mayoría de las cuales han sido orquestadas por personas con agendas políticas en conflicto con la seguridad pública. Tercero, transparencia: FICCIÓN: La LCSO no es transparente con la información que divulga. REALIDAD: La LCSO es altamente transparente. Informamos periódicamente a la comunidad a la que servimos y proporcionamos toda la información disponible de conformidad con el Código de Virginia y la Ley de Libertad de Información, en coordinación con el Fiscal del Condado de Loudoun. Información sobre órdenes de detención y órdenes de arresto emitidas por otras agencias del orden público referente a personas arrestadas en Loudoun por cargos locales, se puede solicitar a dichas agencias. https://sheriff.loudoun.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=9860 

Anne Donohue, School board member resigns from job over Hatch Act violation

Only three days after being elected to the School Board, it was made public that resident (At-Large) resigned from her Department of Justice job after the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) found her to be in breach of the .

She resigned Oct. 10 and her last day at the DOJ was Nov. 3.

The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from running as partisan candidates in . ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The OSC is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency that investigates Hatch Act violations.

Donohue joined the DOJ in 2014 and the Civil Division in 2020 as an appellate litigator, according to her bio on the George Washington University website. She is also a law lecturer for the university.

According to the OSC, Hatch Act violations include accepting an endorsement from a political party while running for a non-partisan office or receiving material assistance from a political party such as campaign signs, campaign literature, and advertising support.

In a recent letter sent from Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of OSC’s Hatch Act Unit, to the anonymous individual who filed the complaint with the OSC concerning Donohue, Marrone states, “We confirmed that Ms. Donohue was endorsed by the Loudoun County Democratic Committee (LCDC) and that she also acted in concert with the LCDC to further her candidacy.”

The letter went on to say that once OSC informed Donohue of its conclusions that Donohue “came into compliance with the law by resigning her DOJ job,” and that the OSC closed the file without further action.

Republicans quick to question legality

On Nov. 1, the Loudoun County Republican Committee published a post to its website which said, “Her [Donohue’s] acceptance of a political party’s endorsement, her campaign contributions to that same party, her frequent appearances with officials at campaign events, and apparent use of democrat party support, has placed her campaign in blatant violation of the federal law.”

They demanded an investigation.

Individuals took to social media quickly after the OSC letter was posted on the X accounts, formerly Twitter, of Loudoun County Moms and Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak, who has written extensively on public school issues.

Many public comments on social media centered on why Donohue would choose to resign from a well paying government career position in order to keep her new position on the school board which is a part time role that only pays $22,000, according to records.

“I’m at peace with my decision”

In an interview with The Blue Ridge Leader Sunday evening, Donohue said she first received notice from the OSC in September alerting her that a complaint had been filed and the office would be investigating the allegations.

“I had been sporadically applying for the last couple of years while working at the DOJ, mostly in the federal sector. Before I joined DOJ, I was a county prosecutor in Massachusetts and that’s the work that I went to law school to do and the job that I have loved the most throughout my career and I really miss it,” Donohue explained.

“And the longer that I spent away from that world, I have missed it more and more. And I had already been thinking that maybe next year I might get a job at one of the Commonwealth Attorneys Offices.”

She said for the last three years she has also been teleworking, but was asked to come back into the DOJ office as of January 2023 and did not look forward to the commute again. As a federal employee she said she also was tired of government shutdowns, which directly impacted her job with funding lapses. “It’s a turn off,” she quipped. “So I had really been thinking for a few years that I would try and get a job locally.”

She said when she was thinking about running for the school board in the spring she had a series of conversations with the ethics officer and the professional responsibility officer at her job, along with her direct supervisor, about the Hatch Act. She also said once her campaign was underway, she communicated to her campaign staff advising them of the restrictions of the Act to make sure they did not unknowingly violate the Act.

“I don’t think I did violate the Hatch Act,” Donohue said, but she did see at times her campaign material was used by others. She saw a picture of one of her signs on a Fourth of July float that she did not put there. Some Democratic events used her candidate material also by well meaning people who were most likely not aware of the law.

“I can only control what I did, and I followed the law. I cannot control other people. I did not ask for the endorsement of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee. The committee did that on their own or did it at the request of someone who entered my name in for consideration,” she said.

The OSC gave her three options – quit the campaign, resign from her DOJ position or appeal the violation decision. “Many people encouraged me to fight the violation decision, but that would have taken the involvement of lawyers and a lot of time and money,” she said. In the end, because she had already been thinking of transitioning out of her job at the DOJ, the answer became clear.

She left the DOJ. And in doing so, it closed the case against her. It was a decision she came to based on the consideration primarily of her family and secondly the future course of her career.

Donohue said she is optimistic about future job prospects and particularly her new role on the school board. As a mother of two young , she believes she is in the right time and place to affect change for the better.

“I’m at peace,” she said.

The next School Board meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. at LCPS headquarters, 21000 Education Court in Ashburn. At that meeting, the nine new school board members will be formally introduced to the public. On Jan. 2, 2024, the new school board members will be sworn in.

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Subscribe to our newsletter!  Get updates on all the latest news in Virginia.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Check out our other content

Check out other tags:

Most Popular Articles

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
×