Liberty Endangered

It's a problem when public servants watch too much TV and don't have the sense to distinguish between Dirty Harry and real life. Here are Virginia ABC agents behaving badly:

On Friday, radio host Rob Schilling revealed the audio of a stunning 911 call placed by one “Ann, Downey,” apparently a passenger in the car driven by 20-year-old Elizabeth Daly as Virginia law enforcement from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) surrounded the car. Daly was arrested on April 11, 2013, after she was surrounded by ABC agents who suspected that she had bought alcohol illegally due to her age. In fact, she had bought bottled water and cookie dough. While the officers surrounded the car, the passengers called 911.

The audio of the call is shocking. The women on the call begin crying “oh my God” and “what should we do,” asking for help from the 911 dispatcher. Daly later said that she feared the ABC officers wanted to break the windows of the car, and Daly left the scene of the incident at the behest of the 911 operator. She stopped once the 911 operator told her to do so after ascertaining the identity of the people surrounding the car.

I really hope that none of these "agents" carry a gun. Think of the job they are tasked with. They're in a parking lot, with pedestrians, some of them children, walking to and from their cars. They want to stop underage drinking. Fine. They can do that by walking up to suspects. If a suspected juvenile is so far through the parking lot that the agents would have to run down the car, then they are pretty crappy at a fairly simple job. It's better to let the (misdemeanor) offender get away than to endanger the lives of everyone nearby.

Did they somehow get slowed down on their way to detain these young girls? Isn't it more likely that they enjoy playing Dallas SWAT, and they often swoop down on their victims?

And did the "agents" really expect the girls to become compliant because they flashed badges? Then they should instruct their own daughters to give in to any guy who can afford one of these:

They should be ashamed of themselves. They should be issued pink uniforms and be made to carry balloons until such time as they can demonstrate an understanding of the dimensions of the misdemeanor, and their role in enforcement.

***Update:

Sometimes they see the obvious.

WTOP (AP) reports:

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Virginia alcohol regulators have instituted a new policy following an incident in which a young woman was jailed after buying sparkling water.

The University of Virginia student was confronted by plainclothes ABC agents in April after they suspected the 20-year-old of purchasing beer.

The woman was charged with two felonies after she attempted to flee the agents.
In an announcement Friday, the State Alcoholic Beverage Control said it was immediately changing its policy and that it will require a uniformed officer to participate in similar operations.

As news of the confrontation emerged, the ABC office in Richmond was swamped with calls, as well as criticism on social media.

A prosecutor later dropped the charges against the woman.