Late last year, with the Virginia State Police under scrutiny after authorities said a former trooper kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl and killed three members of her family, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he had requested a full investigation by the state’s watchdog agency.
But due at least in part to a previously existing mutual agreement between state police and the watchdog, state police appear to have simply investigated the matter themselves, according to a policy document obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.
A memorandum of understanding between state police and the Office of the State Inspector General, the watchdog agency tasked with investigating waste and rooting out inefficiencies in state government, says that in nearly all cases, VSP retains responsibility for “the oversight and conduct of internal investigations of its personnel.”
MORAINE, OHIO ACTIVE SHOOTING INCIDENT LEAVES 1 DEAD, 2 INJURED: POLICE
The memorandum makes an exception for allegations against the superintendent or deputy superintendent of the state police, which would be handled by OSIG.
Questions about the investigation into the Austin Lee Edwards matter have swirled after reporting from the Virginia Mercury and Richmond TV station WRIC noted that OSIG never produced an official report. Instead, when media outlets sought the findings, the watchdog agency produced only a letter written by State Police Superintendent Gary Settle to the inspector general, leading to questions about what seemed to be an inconsistency in what Youngkin asked for and what was produced.
That Settle letter, which news outlets covered in early January, said a background investigator failed to check Edwards’ mental health history and missed a judge’s order that would have disqualified Edwards from state police employment. The letter characterized the “human error” in the case as an “isolated incident.”
Authorities have said Edwards — who had moved on to a job with the…
Read the full article here
