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LISTS OF 'WRONGDOERS' KEEP SURFACING |
| (10/08/2007) |
| By Bob Weaver Lists put together by government or police agencies targeting risky "wrongdoers" is nothing new. In our nation of democratic and constitutional law, we generally believe such lists are out of place. Now a police list targeting certain residents of Summers County because they have had multiple arrests related to drinking alcohol will likely be challenged. The lists are reportedly being used to keep frequent offenders from purchasing alcohol. Many people, including business owners, are not happy about the enforcement of the list by police. The City of Hinton compiled a list of about 30 people who have been to court for public intoxication. Cases against those individuals are frequently dismissed because they are alcoholic. City officials say the public does not need to be bothered by them, citing WV Code. Over the summer, Huntington enforced the same code. In 2002, Sgt. John Bonazzo of the Braxton Detachment of the State Police issued a "target list" of eleven Braxton residents and two juveniles, stating "These people are not to be given any break if you stop them." After Sgt. Bonazzo circulated his "target list," he was called on the carpet and reportedly suspended for five days. The Braxton prosecutor said he felt the list was legal. The internal affairs arm of the West Virginia State Police investigated Bonazzo's list, according to Captain B. D. Gore, who said he took this type of thing seriously. Two individuals on the "Target List" were children of Braxton magistrate Carolyn Cruickshanks. Five years later, Cruickshanks has been indicted for intimidating a witness in a drug case involving her son who was incarcerated at Central Regional Jail. She has been suspended from her office pending the outcome of the case. The Bush administration and the federal agencies have been obtaining and reviewing records on American citizens, and making lists linked to the "War on Terror." During J. Edgar Hoover's reign at the FBI, the agency compiled lists of millions of USA citizens who "could create problems," and then there was Nixon's Enemies List. The lists keep on coming.
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