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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

WEST VIRGINA - WatchBlog: Police need watching too

OFF THE WIRE
 Steven Allen Adams
 westvirginia.watchdog.org
UPDATE: For some reason, this article is getting a lot of traffic despite being posted September of last year. Thanks for visiting. Because some seem under the impression that these videos are real, they are not. The two officers were real, but they were pranking and pulling over each other, not regular drivers. While city officials have declined to talk to any media about what actions they took against the officers, I’m told they did get in trouble and face punishment of some sort, but are otherwise still on the job.
By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON –This week a couple of videos surfaced showing unprofessional behavior by police officers of the St. Marys Police Department. Not sure who put the videos up, but a lesson can be learned by city, county, and state law enforcement statewide.
In the interests of full disclosure I am from St. Marys, W.Va. It was where I was raised, where I graduated high school, and a place I visit whenever I can. I know at least one of the officers in these videos.
In both videos two officers, Sal Travaglio and Nathan Boron, took turns pulling each other over and making prank videos. The first video shows Travaglio pulling Boron over talking in an exaggerated southern accent:

The second video, the more shocking of the two, shows Boron pulling Travaglio. When Travaglio refuses to let Boron search his vehicle, Boron begins cussing and yelling, telling the driver to get out of town:

Both videos are not real; they are two police officers goofing off. But when I first saw the video, particularly the Boron video, I didn’t know this. I saw an officer being extremely unprofessional to an out-of-town driver. When the prank rumor first surfaced, then I was very angry that these officers were pulling over people for nothing but their own amusement. Now we know the officers were pulling each other over.
The question in St. Marys is what should happen to the two officers. It’s true that they didn’t harass other drivers; only pranking each other. But they were using public resources to do it while in uniform and getting paid. Worse than that, thousands have viewed these videos. Over 115,896 have viewed the Boron video alone. This reflects poorly on the St. Marys Police Department and on the community as a whole.
Should the officers be fired? At least one has had problems before. Travaglio worked for the Washington County Sheriffs Department until 2009, but has worked from SMPD since 2010. I don’t think the officers need fired, but I don’t think this should be taken lightly. One officer, Boron, has made a public apology, and now supporters are circulating a survey so people can show their support for him.
At the very least both officers should have their salaries docked and face a short period of suspension. The entire department should be looked at as well, because if these types of antics are going on, then there is probably something worse happening under the surface. If someone would dig, I think they’d find all sorts of corruption in St. Marys.
Ultimately the lesson to be learned here is police need watching too. That is a foreign concept to law enforcement in West Virginia I imagine. Especially in smaller departments in remote areas I’m sure they’re used to doing what they like. The Charleston Gazette does a good job of shining the light of transparency at law enforcement, but they can’t be everywhere. It’s up to citizens to keep law enforcement honest.
How? Pull out your phone. Even if you don’t have a smartphone you probably have a camera or a voice and video recorder on your phone. You can record the police, and should as long as you’re not interfering with official business.
There are many good law enforcement officers out there, but if there is one bad officer out there that is one bad officer too many. Hold them accountable. They are not more powerful than you; they are public servants. Let’s lift up the good officers and record the bad ones.