Author: Jo DeVoe

Prosecutors dismiss charges against former Arlington teachers union president, for now

By Jo DeVoe
Former Arlington Education Association President Ingrid Gant delivered remarks during a press conference in September 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County prosecutors are taking a step back from pursuing the embezzlement charges levied against former Arlington teachers union president, Ingrid Gant.

That decision, however, does not mean the case against Gant — who was ousted in the spring of 2022 after a 6-year tenure — is closed. The Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney says Gant’s case is serious and they are keeping their options open.

“Due to the scale of this alleged embezzlement, prosecutors are continuing to investigate the facts of this case and potential steps forward,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Deputy Chief of Staff Laura Birnbaum tells ARLnow.

Gant, 54, of Woodbridge, was arrested earlier this year and charged with embezzling more than $400,000 from the Arlington Education Association (AEA). An accounting firm discovered the alleged mishandlings after a 6-month audit and notified Fairfax County police detectives. They found Gant provided herself with multiple bonuses and used debit cards for unauthorized purchases.

Prosecutors dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning they can refile charges at any time, explains June Prakash, the Arlington Education Association president who replaced Gant, noting Virginia does not have a statute of limitations for felonies.

“Nevertheless, this dismissal shows up as ‘final’ on the court docket because, when later charges are filed, it will be assigned a new case number in the court’s system,” she said.

Sources familiar with financial cases say that investigations are often time-consuming because prosecutors have to sort through a high volume of bank records and other documents to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a defendant committed a crime. This standard of proof is higher than what is required to arrest or charge someone with a crime.

With so many records to review, gathering evidence can take longer than court proceedings afford prosecutors. To avoid missing court deadlines, prosecutors will sometimes decline to prosecute in the short term, leaving open the option to re-file the same charges later, once all the necessary preparation is completed.

Prior to Gant’s ouster, union members said the organization had effectively stopped operating as the collective bargaining process was gaining speed. No one answered the phone, the website was down for two months and a key meeting leading up to an executive board election was canceled, raising doubts among members about the election’s fairness.

An attorney for the Virginia Education Association said in a memo that the Arlington union’s finances were in disarray and not communicated to members. Local leaders admitted the disorganization in a memo to members, saying AEA began the 2021-22 fiscal year without a budget and owed $732,000 in dues to the state and national unions.

Fairfax is handling Gant’s case because AEA headquarters is located in the Bailey’s Crossroads neighborhood of Fairfax County, just over the Arlington border.

Pickleball has come to the Arlington County jail

By Jo DeVoe
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The hottest new pickleball club is the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Two weeks ago, the jail inaugurated its new pickleball court — installed by Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation — with a three-day tournament.

Two dozen inmates matched up for “thrilling competitive play” after receiving lessons from an inmate services counselor and the parks department, according to Arlington County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Amy Meehan. (In addition to other assorted law enforcement duties in Arlington, the Sheriff’s Office runs the jail.)

The new pickleballers came from three rehabilitative programs in the jail: the Addictions, Corrections and Treatment program, the Community Readiness Unit and the inmate work program.

“Participants learned, practiced and played for three days, reviewing the rules and demonstrations from Parks and Rec, culminating in a pickleball tournament where they had the opportunity to form teams and compete in doubles matches,” Meehan said.

After the tournament ended, Sheriff Jose Quiroz attended the championship match and shared a small presentation, she noted.

Quiroz first floated the idea of a pickleball court while campaigning for Sheriff ahead of the Democratic primary this June, to improve the health of inmates and stave off burnout among sheriff’s deputies.

“Participation was great and each morning when staff arrived, the individuals were already practicing and playing,” Meehan said. “Equipment was provided for individuals who want to continue playing and several not only thanked staff for providing them this opportunity but also were given locations where they will be able to play in Arlington upon release.”

Two announce Democratic bids for Libby Garvey’s Arlington County Board seat

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County Board candidates Julie Farnam, left (via Julie Farnam/Facebook) and Natalie Roy, right (file photo)

Two women have already announced they are vying for the Arlington County Board seat currently occupied by Vice-Chair Libby Garvey, who faces re-election next year.

First-time candidate Julie Farnam and second-time candidate Natalie Roy announced today (Monday) that they have joined the Democratic primary race, set to culminate next June.

Meanwhile, both Garvey and former County Board candidate Julius “JD” Spain, Sr. tell ARLnow they are biding their time before making a decision about whether to run next year.

Farnam and Roy’s announcements come less than a month after voters picked Susan Cunningham and Maureen Coffey to replace outgoing Board Chair Christian Dorsey and former member Katie Cristol.

Farnam, a current Arlington Ridge Civic Association board member, is campaigning on a platform of improving public safety and taking what she calls a “smart” approach to planning and growth.

“I am proud and excited to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Arlington County Board,” Farnam said in a statement. “I believe in a community where residents feel safe, where the needs of our community are placed above the desires of developers, and where no resident must wonder if they are being heard.”

Farnam has held leadership positions in both the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and the U.S. Capitol Police and has a forthcoming book on her account of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“As a woman who has spent her career in security and law enforcement, I know what it takes to address the unique safety challenges Arlington faces in years and decades ahead,” she said.

On social media, she has decried the Arlington County Board’s “dreadful” handling of the Missing Middle zoning ordinances, calling for more targeted policies to address affordability and racial inequities.

She has also waded into the local discourse about whether crime is rising, pointing to carjacking stats for proof it is on the rise. Farnam also criticized the County Board for spending money on new Metro entrances, saying it should instead direct more to police.

More from her statement:

I am a small business owner and a single mother of students in Arlington. I know just how difficult it is to afford to live and support a family in Arlington, and what needs to be done to ensure Arlington is a place where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. I am running to ensure our community flourishes into the future for my daughters and for generations to come.

Reprising similar campaign messaging from this year, Roy and Farnam highlight transparency as a key campaign issue.

“I strongly believe that the Arlington County Board needs a voice like mine advocating for more transparency and responsiveness,” Roy said in a statement.

During the 2023 Democratic primary, Roy ran a targeted County Board campaign focused on criticizing the Missing Middle ordinances, which allowed 2-6 unit homes to be built in districts once zoned exclusively for single-family homes.

The ordinances gave rise to community and candidate discussions about transparency this election cycle, whether candidates relitigated the zoning changes or criticized how the county fulfills Freedom of Information Act requests and publishes information.

As for potential competition Farnam and Roy face, ARLnow asked Vice-Chair Garvey and former County Board candidate Spain about their plans.

Garvey said she is “planning to decide by January or early February whether I will run again.”

Spain told ARLnow that he is undecided at this time.

Farnam will be holding a campaign kick-off event next Monday at The Freshman (2011 Crystal Drive) at 6:30 p.m. Other forthcoming events, including one held in English and Arabic, are posted on her website.

Roy will host a pre-holiday campaign launch the day before, on Sunday, from 4-6 p.m., with more details forthcoming.

Photo 1 via Julie Farnam/Facebook

County approves more Missing Middle projects after trial date set for lawsuit

By Jo DeVoe
An anti-Missing Middle sign in front of a house in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Although Arlington County is set to go to court next summer over its Missing Middle zoning ordinances, it has not stopped approving these new housing projects.

Judge David Schell has scheduled a 5-day trial to begin on July 8, 2024 after ruling in October that the 10 residents suing Arlington over the ordinances had standing. Among other claims, they argue the county violated state law by not sufficiently considering the impacts of Missing Middle.

“The court found it ‘readily apparent’ that a homeowner whose land is rezoned could sue, adding that it would be difficult to understand how such a property owner would not have standing,” per a press release from Arlingtonians for Upzoning Transparency, or AfUT, a group that formed in opposition to the ordinances but is not a party to the case.

“Such a challenge, the Court stated, was a ‘quintessential use’ of the law,” it continues.

The county disagrees. Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey told AfUT in an email it “is wholly within the purview of the local legislative body, which has the constitutional authority to make countywide land use decisions, revisions, and repeals if necessary.”

“It is our position that the Judiciary should not substitute its judgment for decision-making expressly reserved for the local legislative body,” Dorsey continued.

Arlington County will attempt to appeal the judge’s standing decision in a hearing on Jan. 11. Should the judge grant the appeal, the Virginia Court of Appeals would decide whether to accept the case.

“The County’s hubris in claiming that the courts don’t have a role in reviewing EHO zoning is astonishing,” says Dan Creedon, speaking for Arlington Neighbors for Neighborhoods, the organization that is financially supporting the lawsuit. “But now that a trial date has been set, and maybe reality is setting in, the County is seeking an appeal that could delay the trial and add tremendous expense to the litigation.”

The residents, meanwhile, plan to appeal the judge’s decision to deny its claim the county violated Freedom of Information Act laws in how it disseminated information to the County Board and the broader community.

“They had argued that they asked the County clerk for all public comments and the clerk emailed a link to the County website that had only a few letters,” anti-Missing Middle group Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future said in a press release last week, after the trial date was set. “A FOIA request revealed, in fact, the County had far more.”

Twenty-one Missing Middle projects — about a third of the 58 permits currently allowed per calendar year — have been approved as of last week, according to the county’s permit tracker. Five are under their first or second review, eight had their first review rejected and one application was withdrawn.

None of the projects are located in the county’s zoning districts with the largest lot sizes, or 8,000 to 20,000 square feet.

Developers who spoke to ARLnow said their project’s status depends on how many of the required permits they have in hand.

Home builder Ned Malik, whose Bluemont neighborhood project has started demolition following county approval, says he is undeterred by the lawsuit.

“We’re hoping to get started on construction in the first quarter of 2024,” Malik says. “We are moving forward on it. We definitely would be a witness for the county [as to] why it’s a much-needed thing, smart thing to do.”

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Arlington-based Federated Wireless to research securing 5G networks wherever U.S. military may go

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Ballston-based Federated Wireless is working with a university to secure 5G networks for U.S. soldiers and government operatives while abroad in possibly hostile countries.

It aims to develop a product that can secure 5G networks all over the world — even networks that are deployed by “potentially adversarial nations,” according to a press release.

That way, Americans abroad, whether in the military or part of a non-governmental organization, can use these networks without risking critical information falling into the hands of bad actors.

“The goal of the work is to ensure a range of users, from U.S. soldiers to commercial enterprises, can use 5G cellular networks in other countries, without those countries being able to extract valuable operational information,” Federated Wireless Chief Technology Officer Kurt Schaubach said in a statement.

Federated Wireless was selected to be the business partner for researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder leading the 2-year project, dubbed 5G Hidden Operations through Securing Traffic, or GHOST.

GHOST will explore disguising and anonymizing user identities, locations and traffic to prevent surveillance and analysis by hostile parties, the release said.

“This work is important for the United States because it inherently is about keeping our people safe,” said Eric Keller, a project researcher and CU Boulder associate professor, in a press release. “I’ve had the great fortune of being able to advise students at CU Boulder who were in the military, and hearing stories of situations they’ve been in really hits home the impact that GHOST could help keep them safer.”

The GHOST team (courtesy Federated Wireless)

The university and Federated Wireless recently received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation for the project.

The duo received a $750,000 NSF grant in September 2022 to fund the initial development of the technology. The $5 million grant will fund further work to develop a single prototype. At the end of the project, Federated Wireless and the university will decide what makes sense to commercialize.

“We’re excited to see where the research leads,” a spokeswoman for Federated Wireless told ARLnow.

Lead CU Boulder researcher Keith Gremban says Federated Wireless is the right partner for the project because it will provide valuable communications expertise and can rapidly build prototypes of “cutting-edge 5G concepts.”

“Their involvement helps enable us to build a prototype capable of securing 5G communications in the most difficult environments,” he said in a statement.

Former Dunkin’ in Clarendon to become a Jersey Mike’s Subs shop

By Jo DeVoe
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A former Dunkin’ in Clarendon is set to become a new Jersey Mike’s Subs.

The sandwich shop is looking to move into the storefront at the intersection of Clarendon Blvd and N. Garfield Street, a block from the Clarendon Metro station, according to the beginnings of a permit application filed with Arlington County. The spot has been vacant for two years.

Arlington does not yet have a Jersey Mike’s Subs location, though another one is in the works at the base of the Westmont Apartments at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Glebe Road. The closest current locations are in Falls Church and Alexandria.

Jersey Mike’s Subs franchisee Beth Wiley is bringing forward both the Clarendon and Columbia Pike locations. She says the process has just started for the Clarendon location: an architect has completed drawings and soon, a contractor will review the project and estimate costs.

The new Clarendon outpost will move into a former Dunkin’ that also housed a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. It opened in 2017 and closed in 2021, just as a new Dunkin’ came online near Clarendon on Wilson Blvd.

“It’s helpful because it was already a restaurant,” Wiley said. “The work is not quite as extensive. It’s a remodel, as opposed to starting from scratch… Everything is in pretty good shape.”

The county processed the initial request for interior alterations to the nearly 1,400-square-foot space at 3009 Clarendon Blvd last week and now awaits plans and documents, the permit records say.

As for the Pike location, Wiley says the county is reviewing plans, submitted a month ago, and she has a contractor lined up. All that remains is getting the go-ahead from landlord Republic Properties, which held a grand opening for its new development earlier this month.

The franchisee says the two locations could potentially open sometime this spring.

Wiley says she is excited to bring the brand to Arlington as it expands beyond suburban strip malls and into more urban areas.

“When I signed on for Jersey Mike’s, I signed on for Arlington,” she said. “I grew up in this area… It seemed like a great opportunity, if you find the right sites, and here we are, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Hat tip to Chris Slatt

Arlington County zeroes in on automated enforcement to tackle dangerous driving

By Jo DeVoe
ACPD officer conducts traffic stop during November 2023 Street Smart campaign in Courthouse (staff photo by James Jarvis)

High speeds, traffic scofflaws and distracted drivers are the top three reasons people feel unsafe when traveling around Arlington.

That is according to the county’s latest Vision Zero mid-year report, which summarized how Arlingtonians responded to online and in-person surveys about their top concerns as travelers.

County data on fatal and severe-injury crashes appear to back that up. Among speeding, distracted driving and alcohol, speeding leads the pack as a factor in serious crashes.

To tackle speeding — and one day, other traffic violations — Arlington County is laser-focused on automated enforcement. The road to get there, however, is long and some goals could take years of politicking to achieve.

First, the county has to implement speed cameras in school and work zones, which the Arlington County Board authorized in January 2022, shortly after the General Assembly permitted this.

Although Arlington is still working on procuring a contract for speed cameras, the County Board, the Vision Zero team and ACPD are working on expanding the use of speed cameras by including it among legislative priorities in the upcoming General Assembly session.

This could be an uphill battle, as some local legislators told ARLnow there is not yet an appetite in Richmond for widespread automated enforcement.

“The General Assembly has been reticent to allow full use of red light cameras,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin. “I think there might be some hesitancy to having fully automated enforcement, in general.”

Still, the county is pursuing automated enforcement to influence driver behavior when police are not present, lower its reliance on in-person enforcement and reduce potentially adverse interactions with police.

“They’re doing everything they can with what they’ve got right now,” says Vision Zero Coordinator Christine Baker, of the traffic enforcement Arlington County Police Department currently conducts. “We’re both just really hoping for more automation to help keep that progress toward better behaviors.”

Automation would also “let officers do the work that they need to do and leave the traffic enforcement up to ubiquitous, unbiased technologies,” she said.

Mike Doyle, the president of Northern Virginia Families for Safer Streets, agrees that it would limit potential racial bias and escalation in routine stops as well as alleviate police staffing shortages.

“Technology, with a photo and sending the ticket to the person, mitigates the risk of the officer,” he said.

Cameras would be effective, he says, “as long as the speed cameras are balanced in terms of equity: we can’t put them just in all the poor sections of town — they have to be where the speeding is.”

ARLnow asked ACPD whether it supports more cameras or has concerns about the hours officers might have to dedicate to reviewing footage.

Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage says the department “will continue to work collaboratively with the County on any future legislative changes to automated enforcement programs.”

ACPD reports keeping busy with enforcement 

Despite staffing concerns — and scaling back operations due to low numbers — ACPD says it is committed to traffic enforcement and considers it a key safety initiative.

ACPD is authorized to have 377 officers and currently has a “functional staffing level” of 278 sworn officers, down from 284 this fall. Sworn offices can stop people for traffic violations and are “expected to meaningfully contribute to the department’s key initiatives,” through education and enforcement, Savage said.

How many are assigned to traffic duties is sensitive information, she said.

“In March 2022, the department announced service changes due to a reduction in our workforce,” says Savage. “There were no key impacts to transportation safety and the department reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring the orderly flow of traffic in the County while conducting transportation safety enforcement and education campaigns.”

Enforcement stats from ACPD (data visualization by Jo DeVoe)

ACPD’s Special Operations Section conducts education and enforcement in “identified areas of concern with the goal of voluntary compliance when police are not present, Savage said.

They also address safety concerns, work with Vision Zero staff, deploy variable message boards and other technology, and manage the police department’s participation in local and regional traffic safety programs.

The unit includes civilians who work as parking enforcement agents; traffic directors during events, crashes and emergencies; and school crossing guards.

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Veteran and longtime Arlingtonian gets needed home repairs from volunteers

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) When volunteers hung a starch-stiff American flag on a shed belonging to 89-year-old local veteran William Johnson, he told them how proud he was to have served his country.

“You are so wonderful,” Johnson told the volunteers from Navy Federal Credit Union earlier that day. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The flag replaces a worn one that hung from the same spot for 20 years, according to a blog post from the credit union. Employees placed the finishing touch after they and staff from the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church finished repairs on his red-brick Arlington home of 50 years.

Johnson served in the U.S. National Guard and Army in the 1950s and moved into the right half of a side-by-side duplex in 1966, after he and his late wife, Daisy, got married. There, they raised a daughter, who now lives down the street; worked for Virginia Hospital Center; and were active in a local church.

But the home where he and Daisy lived out their years began to show signs of aging. Johnson, a retiree on a fixed income, could neither do the work himself nor afford help. So Navy Federal teamed up with the local nonprofit Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church, which makes home repairs for Northern Virginians in need.

“Houses need maintenance. Things change, our bodies change, and we have to adapt our homes to our bodies,” Patti Klein, the nonprofit’s executive director, tells ARLnow. “At the same time, Navy Federal wanted to work on a home of someone who served in the military. We thought it was a perfect fit.”

After volunteers wrapped up their day of service, many returned on Saturday for more jobs, though they did not have to, Klein said. The resulting work, spanning up carpentry, landscaping, painting and other jobs, moved Johnson.

“He was thrilled, he really was, and when they came back on Saturday, he was very touched by it,” Klein said.

Navy Federal Credit Union, which is headquartered in Vienna, serves military communities and “embraces and encourages service among its nearly 25,000 employees,” per the blog post.

“We believe in coming together for the community and for people who have served our military and our country, and this really embodies that,” Sun Bayless, senior vice president of Real Estate Lending at Navy Federal, told volunteers that Saturday. “We’re ready to roll up our sleeves.”

The credit union says volunteers have supported 30 projects benefiting four area low-income homeowners and 26 nonprofit organizations, several of which serve the veterans.

In Arlington, Klein says employees have helped on a number of projects, including building an outdoor classroom at Carlin Springs Elementary School.

“They really believe in community and giving back,” she said.

In total last year, the local chapter of Rebuilding Together, a national nonprofit, spruced up 115 homes, Klein said. Of them, 90% had a resident over the age of 65 and 60% had a resident with a disability. The homes tend to be older and need more work as well as aging-in-place modifications.

With Giving Tuesday around the corner, Klein says Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church welcomes financial donations, volunteers who can work on weekdays or weekends and client referrals.

Arlington IT firm announces second merger

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Almost a year after its last merger, Arlington-based IT company C3 Integrated Solutions celebrated another major consolidation.

Last week, C3 announced its merger with Ingalls Information Security, a company based in Woodworth, Louisiana specializing in cybersecurity risk management for the defense industry.

C3 CEO Marc Pantoni says the merger is a response to evolving industry requirements concerning cybersecurity.

“Given how tightly integrated cybersecurity has become with day-to-day IT operations and compliance requirements, we believe it critical that we offer top-tier cybersecurity services that as part of our portfolio,” he wrote in a blog post.

The merger brings combines Ingalls’ expertise in Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) — a Dept. of Defense (DoD) benchmark for cybersecurity in government-contracted companies — with C3’s managed IT and Microsoft Cloud solutions, according to a separate blog post by Ingalls CEO and founder Jason Ingalls.

“With this merger, our clients can now turn to a single service partner for all their needs without sacrificing quality of service,” Pantoni said. “That means a single source of accountability, increased cost efficiencies, and fewer partners to manage.”

Banner announcing merger of C3 and Ingalls Information Security (via LinkedIn/C3 Integrated Solutions)

The merger, akin to last year’s, aims to help clients navigate new Dept. of Defense guidelines which were recently updated to ensure contractors and subcontractors comply with stringent cybersecurity standards to safeguard sensitive, unclassified information.

“With CMMC soon becoming a baseline contractual requirement, defense contractors are looking for a partner to support them through their entire compliance journey,” the joint release said.

“As cybersecurity, IT, and compliance become increasingly intertwined, members of the DIB can now turn to C3 as a single managed services partner for all their IT, cybersecurity, and compliance needs without sacrificing quality of service,” the release continued.

‘Our Man in Arlington,’ local historian Charlie Clark, dies at 70

By Jo DeVoe
Charlie Clark holds his book, ‘Hidden History of Arlington’ (via Charlie Clark/Facebook)

Charlie Clark, a dogged chronicler of local life in Arlington, has died at the age of 70.

He was known locally as the author of “Our Man in Arlington,” a weekly column in the Falls Church News-Press, and as the author of several books on local history.

His quickly declining health came as a surprise. Last month, Clark published his most recent book, the “Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press,” documenting the paper’s role in reporting on development clashes, school quality fights, political races and scandals.

He also interviewed philanthropist David Rubenstein at the Arlington Historical Society banquet about his donations to local historical exhibits, including Arlington House, the domicile of a descendent of George Washington as well as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Shortly after, the local writer was hospitalized and diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He passed away at home while receiving hospice care; a memorial for him will be announced at a later date, according to his obituary.

Clark had a 50-year journalism career that began at Yorktown High School’s newspaper, The Sentry. After landing a job with Time-Life Books in Alexandria, he went on to work as a reporter or editor for The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly and National Journal, among other outlets. He retired as a senior correspondent at Atlantic Media’s Government Executive Media Group in 2019.

The retired journalist was a prolific local historian and a board member and volunteer for the Arlington Historical Society.

He has published three books on Arlington County history — “Arlington County Chronicles,” “Hidden History of Arlington County” and “Lost Arlington County” — as well as the first full biography of Arlington House’s first resident, George Washington Parke Custis, who he called the under-sung “child of Mount Vernon.”

Clark, a native of Arlington who grew up in the Rivercrest and Cherrydale neighborhoods, had a long memory of how the county once looked. His columns often included vignettes describing its changes, from renamed schools, to larger homes, to local landmarks that have come and gone.

In one recent column, Clark took a pensive turn, reflecting on the youthful injuries he and his schoolmates suffered, after watching his grandkids accumulate scrapes, bruises and broken bones.

His conclusion makes a fitting farewell to his survivors: his wife, Ellen, daughters Elizabeth McKenzie and Susannah Matt, his grandchildren, Caroline and James McKenzie, and his siblings, Thomas Clark and Martha Franks.

“So what is the deep and wise message I bequeath to my grandchildren?” he wrote. “As you struggle through the pain, the uncertainty, the anxious stints in the waiting room — and the vital rallying of family — please know that you are undergoing an experience that, in later life, you likely will remember.”

Photo via Charlie Clark/Facebook

County seeks feedback on policies for using drones during public safety and emergency responses

By Jo DeVoe
Drone seen flying near former Key Bridge Marriott (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Drones could soon figure into the future of public safety in Arlington.

Arlington’s police and fire departments, the Sheriff’s Office and the Dept. of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management are developing a joint program to use drones when responding to public safety and emergency incidents.

Now through New Year’s Day, people can comment on their draft policies regulating the training, operations and oversight of the “Unmanned Aircraft Systems program,” or UAS.

“All comments provided will be reviewed and evaluated for incorporation into the policies,” a county press release says. “Implementation of the program is anticipated in early 2024 following the completion, review, and incorporation of community feedback on the draft policies.”

Law enforcement could use drones for situational awareness: for instance, one was seen during the large public safety agency presence at the Key Bridge Marriott when it was condemned. Drones could also help collect evidence, conduct search and rescue operations and monitor public events.

The county has posted draft policies for ACPD, ACFD and the Dept. of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management online for people to review. Much of the language is the same across all three policies.

More on the purpose of the program, from ACPD’s policy:

The UAS program shall be used only to support the missions of participating agencies and for legitimate purposes such as situational awareness of public safety incidents, search and rescue operations, and evidence collection, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

These drones will not be equipped with weapons. Only those assigned to the program, with proper training, can operate them, in accordance with the Fourth Amendment — which prohibits unlawful searches and seizures — and other applicable laws.

If approved, there would be monthly audits reviewing the number and length of flights, their efficacy, any safety or equipment concerns and potential violations of policy or law, the policy says.

ACPD will let the public know about all pre-planned drone deployments and it will publish an annual report with the total number of flights, the time, date, location of and reason for each flight. Exceptions would be made when this information would jeopardize personnel safety or a criminal investigation.

These aircraft could help these agencies work more efficiently and safely with fewer staff. ACPD, for instance, has had to scale back services amid ongoing challenges with recruiting and retaining officers.

Improved officer safety could, in turn, bolster staffing levels, Arlington’s police and fire chiefs said earlier this year, in a preliminary discussion with the Arlington County Board about drones.

More from a press release:

The draft policies were developed after an extensive review of model policies and recommendations by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and policies of police departments across the country with established UAS programs. The goal is to create model policies for Arlington County, utilizing established best practices while ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. […]

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Background
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) provide enhanced operational capability, safety, and situational awareness for first responders in support of public safety. The UAS Program will only be utilized for specific public safety missions and will be operated only by trained and authorized personnel in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. For additional information on the UAS program, including answers to frequently asked questions, visit our website.

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