(whisper...whisper....whisper...doth one protest too much?....whisper...whisper...are there different laws, rules and regs from the feds and local cops for pitkin and aspen?.....whisper...whisper...gosh, wonder if the feds have to report to the big money back strokers just to do their jobs...whisper...whisper...huh?...did the folks vote for special laws that now say that our law enforcement no longer stands as the last line between the folks and power?....whisper...whisper...hmmm.....wonder what the polls say about Owsley's chances at re-elect this year and the folks chance at getting some power to the people on that commissioner board....whisper...whisper....)
Aspen Times:
"ASPEN — Jon Peacock, Pitkin County manager, was directed Tuesday to ask if the county Sheriff's Office is the target of an FBI investigation.
County Commissioner Michael Owsley suggested the county make the inquiry of the federal agency after the Aspen Daily News reported that individuals have been questioned about drug activity or an abuse of power within the department.
“I think Pitkin County should know whether Pitkin County is being investigated by the FBI,” Owsley said. “The Sheriff's Office is part of Pitkin County, so therefore Pitkin County is being investigated.”
Other commissioners concurred.
“That is certainly a request we can make,” Peacock said....."
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
County Commissioner Michael Owsley suggested the county make the inquiry of the federal agency after the Aspen Daily News reported that individuals have been questioned about drug activity or an abuse of power within the department.
“I think Pitkin County should know whether Pitkin County is being investigated by the FBI,” Owsley said. “The Sheriff's Office is part of Pitkin County, so therefore Pitkin County is being investigated.”
Other commissioners concurred.
“That is certainly a request we can make,” Peacock said....."
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
5 comments:
And exactly what difference is there between this overwhelming arrogance toward law enforcement by Owsley and the overwhelming arrogance by Mayor Matt "Stay safe in Eagle" Steckler toward the treatment of Alvaro Agon and the cops accused of a "Strawberry Days Massacre".
As jbend would say: riddle me this.
The answer is none at all. The underlying problem of systemic decay of duty, trust, ethics in this valley is one and the same.
Begs the question:
"Why don't they know?"
Am reminded of Rick Perry and his position on Holder over Fast and Furious.
If I was a commissioner and had a public that was calling out for nearly 40 years and a historic drug bust that trickles into everything and did not know the feds were in town and probing, I should be fired on the spot.
It isn't just a drug culture with dope running up and down 82 and I-70. It's a culture of corrupted perception of duty. At this point, all the folks can do is hope that kind of thing is criminal in nature so that we can feel safe with the feds in town and Lou in our S.O.
Good luck to you this fall, Commissioner Owsley.
Nice reporting, Aspen Times. There's that cronyism to power, money and abuse rearing its head again. Support your only locally owned and operated newspaper, folks. The Aspen Daily.
Listen to Owsley and his moral outrage. What cops and fibbies need to do is sit down somewhere and put Aspen in the center of the universe from the top of Independence pass to the Utah border. All roads come and go from Aspen. Put Glenwood Springs as the round-a-bout to offshoot to Vail and Denver and downvalley. Now break that down into agencies, politicians and revenue streams. Then divide that pie chart up into individual players. Don't forget the departments like building and planning, land use and anywhere big money can touch. Don't forget the boards that have a lot of power like tourism and RFTA. You can find those high power and high dollar boards by looking at how much interest there is every year in seats.
Now. Take the folks, the little guys you serve and protect. The ones that do the work, commute every day and bring all that dough into the hands of the power brokers. We are the construction workers and owners, the small business people and the ones in the mid-middle class and lower. All the upper middle and low wealth you want to put on the fringes of your new diorama you just made because some of them are like pipeline feeders to the powerful and the big money. Not all of them so keep your badges in your pockets, you've got a long, long way to go to get to the cess pool underneath your new community.
Everything for the folks, life and death for our lives, families and kids is dependent on Aspen. This past 40 years you're looking at we've managed to pull away and get some things of our own going like support of big oil and gas, our own small economic and tourism development and marketing. But really, we all still depend on the fame of Aspen in some way. Even when we don't need them everything they do has an effect on us because the power is that great.
Now look at the people who hold those elected seats and sit boards and run the whole show. Rack up every decision they've ever made and see where their interests are. Then feed off from there and just start watching all the same names cropping up. Same money sources on what developments they support, where they invest in downvalley, where their politics are and where they associate and rub elbows in local power. Look at who gets streamlined treatment on powerful depts and boards. Look at who has kids that join the most prestigious school clubs and teams and how those teams are treated when their parents do something wrong. Look at what happens to those same parents and kids when they run across the law.
Your diorama just got big enough to cover a few hundred mile radius all around us and encompass all the folks you serve and protect. Now.
What makes a commissioner like Owsley have the arrogance to demand that a cop or especially a fed give him the answer he demands? Could it possibly be that 40 years of never getting this diorama of yours built with the little guys you serve and protect in mind first has given all those feeders and connections the belief that they are above the law and invincible?
Now. Sheriff DiSalvo. If you want to be a politician instead of a cop first, do so. But as long as you serve and protect my family, friends and loved ones you don't get to fail your full duty. That is the law.
Good luck to the feds on this. We'll keep trying to believe in you enough to hope that this time you really do stay the course.
From the surge of email into 'the other' secure server mailbox of safe and small since the Daily broke the beginning story of what will likely be a long unveiling this year and beyond; 'SandBox Nanny' says: "OK".
A few months ago I asked that you decrease my daily housekeeping and start posting direct to blog when you have comments. nails, 22 and likely other cohorts of theirs responded by moving the server (without my permission) from their "...hidden in a secret volcanic lair somewhere northwest of DeBeque.." and sending in cryptic emails and IM's challenging 'Nanny' to find them...
'Nanny's' response was to ignore anyone who didn't post direct to blog. 'Nanny' 'won' that power struggle with you 'kids' and for the past few months has enjoyed a decreased posting load which enables her to enjoy her morning cuppa.
I can see where this news of the FBI possibly having presence in the Valley would cause some among us to be worried that they may suffer retaliation from others if they speak up.
So, "OK". We'll post up your comments if you wish to go back to the security of full protected anonymity. You know where to send.
But, please think about opening yourself to a whole new way of thinking:
Trust them. Give a cop (not all of them obviously) a break.
Just look at what the simple thought of them being present among our communities is having for a reaction. This is a good thing! Think about that. Remember how a little spark of hope entered into your thinking when they made that historic bust and did it using Sheriff Lou who you trust so much already?
Give them a chance and while you're at it look hard at the simple, small and somewhat silly little things like area bloggers, anonymous avatars and what that accumulated power has accomplished with your help over the past four years or so.
Bullies do not rule anymore and when they do slither out from under the rocks they retreated to, you take them on in comments, letters, local elections and newly empowered groups.
What has been missing (and still is...these cops have a lot of redemption to accomplish) are the uniforms in front of you.
They're obviously listening to you now. Give them a chance.
'SandBox Nanny' says:
Post direct to blog, write a letter to the editor, shout out, call out and stay the course.
But, if you aren't there yet of course you can go back and still send in on secure service. God only knows where they've stashed the thing...
The Aspen Daily is always appreciated for honest, detailed and balanced reporting. Leaving the gray to the opinion columnists and community letters they remain the local favorite.
Everyone can now rest easy knowing that the Daily is on the stories surrounding the 'Pandora's Box' that's now open.
Time to let the Feds do their job now, comment ability on the FBI story is closed.
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