Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 14, 1995 TAG: 9502140134
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
They also use the taxpayer-financed Capitol police to chauffeur them to and from their hotels and to run personal errands, records obtained by WTVR-TV of Richmond under the Freedom of Information Act show.
Capitol police logs for the first 15 days of the General Assembly session show officers transported lawmakers 129 times. Downtown hotels, where many of the parties are held, were the most frequent destinations.
Some legislators say they fear for their safety in crime-plagued downtown Richmond.
``A number of members of the legislature have been mugged in recent years,'' said Del. John Rollison, R-Woodbridge. ``Some of our older members have trouble outrunning these muggers.''
One of the most frequent police riders is 37-year-old Del. Tommy Baker, R-Pulaski County. ``I owe an obligation to come down here and work for my constituents, which I do, and I owe an obligation to my wife and son to come home. And I try to keep myself safe when I'm down here,'' Baker said.
He said if he cannot get a ride with someone else or if he would have to park and walk a few blocks, he asks Capitol police to take him. The logs show Capitol police transported Baker 15 times in the session's first 16 days.
House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, chairman of the committee that oversees the Capitol police, said he doesn't think legislators are abusing the system.
``They rarely use that, and I rarely use that,'' he said. ``I've used it before, maybe once or twice in my lifetime.''
However, records show five trips for Moss and one for his wife during this session's first 15 days. One entry said the officer took Moss to ``several locations.''
So does Moss see anything wrong with legislators using Capitol police as a taxi service?
``That's not their job and it should not be done,'' he said. ``But I would say to you, there are always emergencies that come up where they try to help out.''
The $2.7 million annual Capitol police budget is provided by the assembly, and they answer to the Joint Rules Committee, chaired by Moss.
The police also have been used for personal errands.
Del. Robert Ball, D-Richmond, sent an officer to the Omni Hotel to get his coat. He told the Richmond television station he had to be at a meeting and didn't have time to go look for it himself.
An officer was dispatched to a drugstore to pick up a prescription for Del. Leo Wardrup, R-Virginia Beach, and an officer replaced a flat tire for Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville.
Rollison said legislators sometimes simply don't have time to tend to such matters.
``We have 45 days to deal with 3,000 bills, and we try our best to get that done,'' he said.
Moss said there are no written guidelines on the relationship between the assembly and the Capitol police, who declined to comment on their duties.
by CNB