Woman learns it's not good to blog about the local drug cops

Although the Charlottesville, VA police had previously warned Elisha Strom that her blog posts were interfering with the work of a local drug enforcement task force, she wasn't charged with obstruction of justice or any similar offense. Rather, she was indicted on a single count of identifying a police officer with intent to harass, which is a felony. She's now behind bars. (Washington Post)

Comments

[d'ep]

I can't figure out if this is a news story or an op/ed. It seems like a news story until the author starts using language like "fit of pique" and "The task force's officers may have worked undercover on occasion, but one wonders about their undercover abilities, given that Ms. Strom was able to out them so consistently" and "Ms. Strom is not the most sympathetic symbol of free-speech rights."

[MidtownCoog]

She's also an accused book burner and her white-S husband is in prison for child porn.

http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2008/01/17/NEWS-strom-elisha-C.rtf.aspx

[twerp]

Coog, she sounds like a real winner. NOT!

[RockyMtnMac]

Let me get this straight - she had the time and desire to record the cops that were coming and going, and identified them, but not the drug dealers?
Thanks lady. You are a real valuable contibutor to society. Hope your 12 year old doesn't come across any of the drugs you helped keep on the streets in the next couple of years.
Half-wit.

[Jim Romenesko]

>>>>I can't figure out if this is a news story or an op/ed.

It's actually an editorial.

[d'ep]

Thanks Jim. I was confused.

[jj2]

If you look back on some of the really significant civil liberty cases of the 20th century, you'll realize that some of those defendants were not the type of people you'd want to meet for wine and cheese. Miranda, Gideon, Mapp, etc. All winners.
This chick may be a jerk, but if the cops can suppress her successfully, what's to stop them from arresting a reporter next time? Reporters, I'm told, can be a pain in the arse of the police.

[Navy Chief]

@jj2 - Perhaps, but most of the good ones understand the need for restraint. My guess is that it works pretty much like we see on TV and in the movies, where the good reporter ferrets out the story, presents it to the cops and is granted an excusive if they hold their tongue (pen/keyboard) until the case is closed. Of course, I've been accused of being naiive, too.

[mianne]

Navy Chief, I doubt the reporters investigating the Watergate break-in 25 years ago would agree with your assessment.

I have to wonder though about The Smoking Gun's recent expose' on Pranknet. It seemed like it provided a lot of information that law enforcement would prefer to be kept under wraps until the arrest of the individuals. OTOH, apparently law enforcement efforts seem to be stymied by international jurisdiction issues. Seems the FBI and RCMP could collaborate a bit on this one, and maybe TSG is trying to get them out of a standstill to actively pursue this case? Hobson's choice maybe?

[mianne]

Ok, make that 35 years ago re: the Watergate investigation.

[Lylly]

I see it the way RockyMtnMac sees it. I have no sympathy for her.
I don't see how some of you believe the cops overstepped her liberties. They didn't come down on her until she posted the home addresses. I think they granted her a lot of leniency and her free speech.

[Navy Chief]

@mianne - granted, but was there an investigation on-going at the time? Did what Woodward and Bernstein do help or hinder the investigation?

[Obama Direspector]

Ill kick an undercover cop's ass. I will expose them, then you stupid fucks can pay for me to sit in prison too.

[outofsalt]

Oh yes, according to the editorial she allegedly feels the law enforcement officers are a "group of arrogant thugs." Being ticked off at folks doesn't give you the right to put their lives at risk, though. I think RMM nailed it.

[wank]

How many extra privileges are we going to give the cops? Sure, this woman sounds like an unpleasant nut, but she really hasn't done anything wrong, as was pointed out in the article. Did you know that in England it has now become against the law to photograph policemen in public? One man was arrested for this "crime," but then later released when it was revealed that he had taken the photograph from his own front yard! I know it's hard for the police to do their jobs when they're hampered by rules and regulations, but that's too bad. We can't have a seperate standard for the cops. If investigations by undercover cops were compromised by her posting of the cops' addresses, then maybe they weren't enough undercover. Is her right to free speech going to be curtailed just because she's crackers?

[Charles Brobst]

My first thought was that this was a Police attack upon free speech.
This does not seem to be the case.

[Matt M]

She is in jail because she can't post $750 for bail. This a puzzlingly low amount to not be able to come up with. And, what about her 12-year-old? Who is taking care of them? Whoever it is, they probably have figured out that it is cheaper to keep the woman behing bars.

[txguy]

What was her deal with the cops in question, anyway? It sounds like one of them might possibly have dumped her...? Or told her daughter not to take drugs with Mom...?

If you look near the beginning of the blog, she is referring to a custom license plate on a police officer's car that "started this whole episode." Then there's a reference to the Clint Eastwood–directed movie “Changeling”, and this odd comment: “When I first got interested in JADE, the only thing I knew about it was the names of three men connected to it.” Three drug cops' names? How would that possibly happen?

[txguy]

There's also this entry which suggests she was dumped, or under the delusion that the cop investigating her white-supremacist husband would want to date her.

[Zimbabalouie]

Learning time kids. No matter how annoying she may or may not have been to use the cover of authority to stiffle free speech is abhorrant and sadly the norm in this America of today. Everyone of you who believes cops are good, cops are great or cops are never wrong will ultimately seal the fate of this free nation.

Cops are not hired to protect you or serve you the public. They are hired to protect and serve the corrupt people who run the government. When you say it is ok to usurp the rights of someone else because the story sounds justifiable you can be guaranteed that someday your neighbors will justify the same exemptions for you and just because the story sounded right.

Remember this final thought: Cops lie! It is human nature to to do it and they are human. They will lie at every opportunity if they believe that no evidence to the contrary exsists.

[ReginaFilangee]

Police officers can be harassed and stalked, too. That's what it sounds to me like this woman was doing. Her actions do not constitute "constitutionally protected free speech". People have the right to privacy, and that includes ALL citizens, including police officers.

[FatSean]

LOL, no wonder you people are always outraged. Your TV-tinted glasses produce unreasonable expectations.

When a cop is working, he is in public, and gets no privacy. None. We should all film all cops all the time. Too many corruption and abuse cases, and the so-called 'good cops' won't stand up and stop it.

Don't forget. These are human beings just like us. They have families and friends and wants and desires and they have to sleep some time. Do not let them use governmental powers to oppress you. There are way more regular citizens than over-privileged rights-stealing pigs. Remember that always.

ReginaFilangee, you crusty old troll, shouldn't you be screaming your white trash face off at a health care town hall meeting?

[debilsadvocado]

Seems like it's time again for someone to stomp on Seans fat fingers.

[Navy Chief]

Putting the names and/or addresses of these cops in her blog may not have been illegal, but does that mean it was the right thing to do? Especially if she knew they were of the undercover variety and that information may have hindered an investigation. Granted, cops are people and have the same faults as the rest of us. However, shouldn't we give them as much (legal) help as we can to do their jobs? Yes, we should watch them too, to be sure they are doing their jobs within the law they are supposed to uphold. Keep tabs on them, but don't publish unless they do something unlawful or otherwise questionable.

Heavy thoughts for 0700 on a Tuesday.

[USMerc]

I'm getting in here late again....and for once, I'm VERY GLAD OF IT!!! A few of the posts in here actually made me sick to my stomache! If you think that being a cop is an easy thing....just go try to get through the academy, and give it a shot...If you think going UNDERCOVER is a walk in the park....I hope you try it, and someone puts YOUR family at risk! I'm disgusted at some of the posters in here, and hope that you remember how little respect you show the people who try to keep you safe at night while you sleep in your friggen Ivory Towers...Please, when you need help from the police....CALL ONE OF YOUR LIBERAL FRIENDS INSTEAD!!!!!!

[sometimesilie]

USMerc- remember growing up in a rural town which for a long while had the State Police as first responders...good friend of the family, huge cop, said call the Staties if you ever have any trouble, but call me FIRST as I'll be over there a heck of a lot faster. Luckily never had to take him up on his offer but believed every word of it. When we finally did get out own cop, btw, he was a real power tripping prick. Would pull over people's mom's for doing 26 in a 25. No sh!t.

[USMerc]

There ARE some shitbird cops out there...That's a fact! But there are FAR more that do their job, care about the public, follow the law, and even more, use common sense...This guy would pull you over for 1 mph over?????That's a shitbird!!!! I wouldn't even LOOK as someone until they were at least 7-8 mph over....then I'd decide if road conditions warranted a citation or not...Normally, a citation wouldn't come until 10 over...

[Zimbabalouie]

to Navy Chief. USMerc and the other liberals who have never bothered to lift there head up out of their daily paper long enough to see the true colors of the world your opinions are simply more of the SOS that enables the governments to get away with tossing the law aside for pride.

Want to see your "tough job I have as a cop" in action just you tube the elderly woman being unlawfully assaulted in the Wallmart parling lot. One of hundreds of videos catching police abusing the people who they are licensed by. No you can never see the world through the greys and the ash because your world is black and white. Nothing more and nothing less.

Of course this is just my opinion and I could be wrong

[ReginaFilangee]

Sorry, but I have to disagree....and I don't have to call people names to do it....but police officers are not elected public officials nor are they celebrities who choose to put their private lives into the public spotlight for scrutiny's sake. They have a job, just like anyone here. Moreover, they put their lives on the line on a daily basis in the course of doing that job, to serve the public. Nowhere in that oath does it say anything about putting the lives of their family on the line at the same time. When they are on the job, they represent their employer. When they are off the job, they are entitled to their own private life just like the rest of us.

Just as it would be wrong (and in many places, illegal) to stalk and harass any other person (e.g. the local grocery store cashier), it is wrong for this woman to do it to this police officer. That would be true even if he were not undercover, but especially so since he was and what she was doing was effectively interfering with justice. Yes, some officers do abuse their authority...but just because any given job HAS any type of authority is not a justifiable reason for interfering with it. YMMV, but I suspect it would change if I started following your mother or adult child around, blogging about his/her every move, and posting his/her personal information with express intent to make it as public as possible. People have a right to have unlisted phone numbers, etc.....and one's residence should be the most personal information of all, especially in situations where spreading that knowledge could endanger that person's family.

Merc, in case no one has done so recently, I'd like to say thanks for your obvious dedication to public service.

[ReginaFilangee]

I do have to wholeheartedly agree with this statement from fatsean: "When a cop is working, he is in public, and gets no privacy. None."

No privacy AS PERTAINS TO HOW HE IS DOING HIS JOB, WHILE HE IS WORKING....absolutely. His personal residence and other personal information does have have squat to do with that, however. None. When his job is over, where he lives is no one's business but his own. NONE.

[ReginaFilangee]

does have have....

that should be does not have

[ReginaFilangee]

Oh, and just FTR, Merc....I'm fairly liberal on most things overall. ;-)

[TheTruth]

to quote,"I see it the way RockyMtnMac sees it. I have no sympathy for her.
I don't see how some of you believe the cops overstepped her liberties. They didn't come down on her until she posted the home addresses. I think they granted her a lot of leniency and her free speech"

we call that freedom of speech what country you from again dictator china? Think before you speak or you just make a fool out of yourself.

[buddy]

cops are a highly organized gang to protect the interests of the rich.

[sometimesilie]

I started liking cops a LOT more when I moved from the country to a city. IME, bored country cops have nothing to do and a lot of what they DID find to do was harassing- if not harassment. Not all, with notable exceptions. From my new perspective, I am happy to see the cops. Pleased at punch. I own guns, but I'm no cowboy and, starting at 11, every Philadelphian is issued an illegal handgun and encouraged to wave it in the faces of their neighbors to demand money. I've heard from good, reliable people that the treatment they've received from the PPD is abusive if not outright criminal, so with respect to those experiences, while I *hate* hearing about how every cop is the greatest hero since Flying Gonzo- some are filthy thugs- I feel I should reiterate my happiness in seeing the local district out patrolling and have had nothing but positive interactions with them.

[USMerc]

Thank you Regina! I do appreciate that!

Now...Zimbabalouie....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I've NEVER been called a liberal before!!!! I'm not sure how to take that!!!! Since I do have quite a few liberal friends, here and elsewhere, I reckon I'll try to take it as a compliment...My leanings are quite a bit to the right of most however, and if you pulled your head out of the sand for long enough to actually READ anything I have posted, I think that you would see that I am not very liberal at all....but thank you anyway!!! hehehehehe I also believe that our esteemed Navy Chief leans a bit right of center as well...but I'll let him explain his politics to you himself!

[USMerc]

p.s....That "Elderly woman in a walmart parking lot" that you spoke of....She had a knife nimrod...Taking her to the ground in that case, is actually AGAINST most department policies....Guess what the policy is for dealing with an armed assailant.....Yup...DEADLY FORCE!!!! The officers involved realized that they did NOT have to kill this obviously disturbed lady, and used MINIMAL force to stop her hostile actions.....Care to try again?

[Umm Really?]

Merc, that is the problem with cops. That is literally why I left the academy, because I could see where the clowns and bullies in there with me were going.

"Guess what the policy is for dealing with an armed assailant.....Yup...DEADLY FORCE!!!!"

No, they laws around here are deadly force when the life of the officer or someone else is directly endangered. Now you guys see a knife and it's DEADLY FORCE!!!! time.

Where I live has paid out many millions of dollars in the past 15 years due to unnecessary beatings and use of force (including using deadly force on unarmed people). I am not even in a top 15 metro are - I can't imagine what their payouts must be.

What do you call a bully with a guy? Officer.

[Umm Really?]

The other question is, how undercover were they if she knew they were undercover cops?

[USMerc]

Umm Really- There are three criteria for using deadly force:
1: Ability- The subject has to have the MEANS to inflict death or great bodily harm (In this case, the knife)
2: Opportunity- The subject has to be in close enough proximity to cause great bodily injury or death. (She was within a few feet of the officers, and other people on the scene, and with a knife, the general rule is 22 feet...See how fast you can cover 22 feet...It will impress you...)
3: Immediate Jeopardy- The subject must make it clear by either action or words that he/she will cause great bodily injury or death to themselves, bystanders, or the officer. (She stated on NUMEROUS occassions that she would cut anyone who came close)

All three criteria were met to employ deadly force, and STILL the officers on scene used discretion and only took her down. Are you saying that they should have allowed her to harm someone, or herself before action was taken?

[Navy Chief]

@Zimbabalouie - I must concur with my friend Merc's statement. Never in my life have I been considered a liberal. Merc is correct that my general leanings are slightly to the right of center. Case in point: A while back, there was a 'which polititian are you' quiz. I was Colin Powell or Bush I, depending on my mood. I even think I was Bill Clinton (!) one time. Pretty centrist, if you ask me.

[ReginaFilangee]

"we call that freedom of speech what country you from again dictator china? Think before you speak or you just make a fool out of yourself."---Posted by: TheTruth | Aug 12, 2009 5:36:48 AM

Yes, indeed....let's THINK before you speak, lest you make a fool out of yourself. Invasion of the privacy of another individual by posting personal information for the express intent to harass does NOT constitute "freedom of speech"...and it's a good thing it doesn't.

Haven't you ever heard the phrase, "Your right to punch your fist STOPS where MY nose STARTS."??? Well, your right to free speech stops where my right to privacy starts....and it's a good thing it does. That's what our country is all about.

[thing1]

We so need to rally against this guys! We need to start a obscurestore militia and... nevermind I think I will just move to Rhode Island...

[Not Surprised]

How long does the "War on Drugs" have to fail before we admit it ?