Ken's Cops: carry guns, arrest citizens, what's next?

By: Jeff E. Schapiro | jschapiro@timesdispatch.com
Published: February 08, 2012 Updated: February 08, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Ken Cuccinelli is a skeptic on climate change. But his proposal to, in effect, create a police department within the attorney general's office is raising the temperature on Capitol Square.

"It's turf, turf, turf," Cuccinelli said of the opposition.

The Republican wants the legislature to allow the 40 investigators in his 83-member Medicaid fraud division to carry guns. They would be issued badges of Cuccinelli's design and — while snooping into misuse of health-care dollars by doctors and nursing homes or abuse of patients — they would watch for, as the bill puts it, "other violations of the laws of the commonwealth."

The sheriffs don't like it; nor do state police. The former, who are independently elected and powers in their own right, aren't afraid to say so. The latter, with a tradition of independence but accountable to the governor and the AG — in this case, that's the aspiring governor — aren't saying anything publicly.

To Cuccinelli, the proposal is about common sense.

To Cuccinelli's critics, the proposal is about his self-importance.

They say it's empire-building, a poke at local and state police, and a weapon, controlled by the attorney general, against political foes.

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peter nap said:

I sure don't know what the uproar is about.

The SCC Motor Carrier Division has it's own Cops.
The State Department of Commerce has it's own Cops.
The DMV has it's own Cops.
DGIF has it's own and in fact the Biologists have arrest powers.

Everybody has their own Cops why can't Cuccinelli?

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VApatriot said:

Is this sarcasm, or do you actual support this?

While I haven't seen the bill (is there one?) or heard anything else about this, I think that I would be likely to support it, at least on one level. I firmly oppose anything that creates separate classes (such as CC without a permit for off duty CAs), but I think that making the means of self-defense available to state employees while they are on the clock is a good thing. This could potentially be a stepping stone to freeing all qualified government employees to carry as they go about their daily work. I think that most of use would support that, just so long as our right to carry is equal respected as we go about our daily lives.

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thebigsd said:

I think the objection is to the fact that the guns are not necessarily for just self-defense. The guns would come with arrest powers and badges. The investigators would also be looking for violations onlaw other than those related to their mandate. I have no problem with them carrying on the job for the purposes of self-defense, just not all that other crap.

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thebigsd said:

I think the objection is to the fact that the guns are not necessarily for just self-defense. The guns would come with arrest powers and badges. The investigators would also be looking for violations onlaw other than those related to their mandate. I have no problem with them carrying on the job for the purposes of self-defense, just not all that other crap.

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thebigsd said:

I think the objection is to the fact that the guns are not necessarily for just self-defense. The guns would come with arrest powers and badges. The investigators would also be looking for violations onlaw other than those related to their mandate. I have no problem with them carrying on the job for the purposes of self-defense, just not all that other crap.

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Repeater said:

The real objection is that these civilians become legally capable of sidestepping the "permitting" process, via Section 18.2-308(C), that most everyone else is forced to submit to -- all the perks without the permits.

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peter nap said:

I was serious!
Nearly every division of the state has it's own mini police department. I don't like a cop on ever corner but if ant Office should have one, The AG's office should be it.

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VApatriot said:

The devil is in the details, and, again, I haven't seen the proposed legislation, but the brief report didn't mention arrest/police powers. Maybe I am over simplify it and only seeing the bit of good. Can you blame a guy for wanting to believe that the government would, for just once, do something because it is actually right, rather than just because it is right for them?

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§ 32.1-320.1. Powers and duties of unit investigators.

A. The Attorney General may designate persons in the unit established pursuant to § 32.1-320 as investigators, and any individual designated as an investigator shall be sworn to enforce the provisions of this article and the criminal laws of the Commonwealth, and shall be a law-enforcement officer as defined in § 9.1-101. The powers and duties of such investigators shall include but not be limited to:

1. The authority to investigate all allegations of fraud in the administration of the State Plan for Medical Assistance administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the provision of medical assistance, or the activities of providers of medical assistance under the State Plan for Medical Assistance;

2. The authority to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect of adults, misappropriation of a patient's private funds while the patient is in the care and custody of others, and other violations of the laws of the Commonwealth;

3. The authority to seize evidence of crimes other than those included within subsections 1 and 2 that the investigators may discover while investigating allegations included within subsections 1 and 2, and to transfer such evidence to other local, state, or federal law-enforcement officers.

B. The Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services may waive the requirement for successful completion of the law-enforcement certification examination based upon an investigator's previous law-enforcement experience, training, and employment as a law-enforcement officer for a local, state, or federal government. However, no such waiver shall be granted to persons having less than five continuous years of such employment, nor shall a waiver be provided for any person whose employment as a law-enforcement officer was terminated because of his misconduct or incompetence.

C. The Attorney General shall have the authority to issue a badge to each person designated an investigator of the Attorney General's choosing. The Attorney General is permitted to incorporate use of the Seal of the Commonwealth in the design of the badge.

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Agent19 said:

The 40 investigators should have to go through and successfully pass whatever academy that other VA sworn officers have to attend, then there really wouldn't be an issue.

Just making them another exempt class of gov employees is just wrong, if the masses can't neither should those paid with their/our tax dollars.

Why can't they just get CHP's, doubt they'll be investigating many medicare claims on k-12 property. If there's a problem with the chp system fix it for them and everyone else.

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peter nap said:

I sure don't know what the uproar is about.

The SCC Motor Carrier Division has it's own Cops.
The State Department of Commerce has it's own Cops.
The DMV has it's own Cops.
DGIF has it's own and in fact the Biologists have arrest powers.

Everybody has their own Cops why can't Cuccinelli?

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Thundar said:

What is next indeed. I RECOMMEND WE BE PROACTIVE AND COME OUT WITH A SCREWED by. THE COOCH SALUTE.

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Grapeshot said:

Think that such probably already exists for his detractors - isn't good form here though.
Doesn't contribute to positive redirection or factual contribution either.

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