On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Calls for an Overhaul of the Virginia Dept. of Alcohol Beverage Control, Better Training for Agents & Oversight Panel
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Citing an insufficient amount of public accounting in the wake of an April 2013 incident in which a University of Virginia student was targeted and terrorized by undercover agents with the Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) after she purchased sparkling water at a grocery store, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, is calling on the ABC to engage in a serious dialogue with the public about how the agency might better serve the needs of Virginia taxpayers. Suggesting that the ABC is in need of an overhaul in order to better balance its mission with the rights of Virginians, the Institute has offered to take the lead in putting together an oversight panel to provide feedback to the ABC on necessary reform measures and develop a training program for ABC agents to ensure that egregious incidents, such as the April 2013 sting, do not occur again.
“If the ABC persists in controlling and regulating the sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol through its own avenues and with its own police force, then it must ensure that its agents have a thorough understanding of the spirit and letter of the U.S. Constitution, especially the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures, and are properly trained in how to conduct investigations based on probable cause that criminal activity is taking place, as opposed to the lesser standard of reasonable suspicion,” said constitutional attorney John Whitehead. “While the literal purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to protect our property and our bodies from unwarranted government intrusion, the moral intention behind it is to protect our human dignity. As such, ABC agents must be guided by an awareness that citizens have a right to ‘dignity and integrity’ and must be accorded a level of respect, regard, and autonomy in dealings with the police.”
On April 11, 2013, after leaving the Harris Teeter grocery store in Charlottesville, Va., Elizabeth Daly, a young college student at the University of Virginia, was accosted by a man and woman in street clothes, who began knocking on her car windows. The man yanked at the door handle, banged on the window and yelled at the women to exit the vehicle. Other men circled the car, one drew a gun while yet another jumped onto the hood of the car. Justifiably terrified, Daly and her two friends attempted to flee the parking lot to safety in her SUV, immediately calling 911 for help. It wasn’t until police arrived with flashing sirens and lights that Elizabeth finally learned the identity of her attackers, Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Enforcement Officers, who suspected them of purchasing alcohol. Despite the fact that the girls’ “suspected” contraband turned out to be cans of LaCroix sparkling water, Elizabeth was arrested, jailed and charged with three felonies.
Four months later, apart from a concession by an ABC commissioner that the entire incident was “embarrassing” and in “poor judgment,” a policy change requiring a uniformed agent to act as a “contact person” in undercover operations, and an administrative review by the Virginia State Police that critics fear may amount to little more than a fact-finding mission, the agency has done little to address failings within its system. Warning that a review of the incident by state police would only result in a rubber stamping of the ABC agents’ actions, The Rutherford Institute had asked for an independent third-party review of the April 11th incident and that the results of any review be made available to the public, along with the details of any disciplinary actions taken and any policy changes made to prevent a reoccurrence.
