THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 1, 1995 TAG: 9508010220
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin opened the national Fraternal Order of Police conference Monday, calling for more support for law-enforcement and denouncing critics of the ATF raid on the Branch Davidians in 1993.
``Clearly, mistakes were made in the initial ATF raid'' on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. ``However, and this I think is the key, no mistake that was made in that raid justified the ambush and killing of four law enforcement officers,'' Rubin said. ``David Koresh was the villain, not the victim.''
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is under Rubin's direction. The agency has been criticized for the confrontation that left Koresh and 80 cult members, including 25 children, dead in an apparent mass suicide. The federal agency's tactics are being questioned in congressional hearings.
Rubin addressed about 5,000 FOP delegates and their families gathered at the Pavilion for the first business day of the national conference. The FOP's legislative agenda will be set during meetings this week.
``The more I looked into Waco and the more I learned, the more I came out convinced that the ATF needs and deserves support,'' Rubin said. ``And second, I was convinced that I should do everything possible to support law enforcement more generally, because these are some of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in our society. . . .''
Virginia Beach two years ago won the bid to host the weeklong conference of the nation's largest law-enforcement group. The convention is expected to pump as much as $5 million into the city's economy.
The delegates represent more than 2,000 FOP lodges from 37 states, Ireland and Canada.
The opening ceremony began with a performance by the Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps and ended with a tribute to slain police officers.
This is the FOP's 52nd national conference and the first held in Virginia Beach. The national meetings are held every two years.
Gov. George Allen is scheduled to speak Thursday. by CNB