Virginia Tech Family Members Urge Governor Kaine to Reconvene Panel

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"While we appreciate the hard work of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, the report issued by the Panel contains grave errors, misinformation, and glaring omissions.

"We believe the panel needs to be reconvened, due to several factors: The time constraint the Panel worked under; the information withheld from the Panel; the erroneous information given to the panel; the information newly discovered by family members; the recent 'discovery' of the missing files; and the panel's failure to interview Dr. Miller."
— Press Release from Virginia Tech Family Members

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The tragedy at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007 claimed the lives of 32 people and wounded many others. It was an act of unprecedented violence and brought unimaginable heartbreak into the lives of the victims' families.

After the tragedy, the governor appointed the Virginia Tech Review Panel to review the incident. Family members had petitioned the governor to have representation on the panel but were denied.

Now, more than two years after the tragedy, the 'missing' medical records of the killer were recently located in the home of Dr. Robert Miller, former director of Virginia Tech's Cook Counseling Center. The governor's panel, which included the former Secretary of Homeland Security and former Superintendent of Virginia State Police, failed to interview Miller. Compounding the travesty, Virginia Tech administration received the records on a Thursday but delayed informing the State Police and the governor until the following Monday. It is reprehensible that despite the criticism against Virginia Tech administration for failing to use sound judgment after the first two killings, they once again failed to "respond within seconds" which is a foundation of crisis management as recommended by the U.S. Department of Education.

Because of the many inconsistencies, inaccuracies and omissions in the panel report as well as these new developments, the Virginia Tech Family Members are urging the Governor to reconvene the Virginia Tech Panel.

FROM VIRGINIA TECH FAMILY MEMBERS

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, July 28, 2009

BASED ON NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN INVESTIGATION,
FAMILY MEMBERS OF VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING VICTIMS
& THE SURVIVORS URGE GOVERNOR TO
RECONVENE THE VIRGINIA TECH PANEL

Richmond, VA – The following statement was released this morning from family members of shooting victims from the tragedy at Virginia Tech University on April 16, 2007:

"On April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech our loved ones were killed and injured in a shooting rampage by a fellow student. We still suffer emotional pain dealing with the impenetrable layers of bureaucracy in our simple quest for answers. An accurate, complete and thorough accounting of what happened before, during and after April 16th, 2007 is the legacy we seek on behalf of those who died and those who survived.

"As family members of the deceased and the survivors, we must make our concerns known about the recent disclosure that the medical records of Seung Hui Cho have been found in the home of the former director of Cook Counseling Center, Dr. Robert C. Miller.

"We cannot comprehend that Dr. Miller, knowing the intensity of the search for these records, did not recall taking files home with him in 2006 when he left the Cook Counseling Center. If Dr. Miller inadvertently removed the files as he claims, we find it telling that it took legal action to force him to produce the records. We also wonder if state police questioned him in April 2007, or only Virginia Tech officials. As announced by the Governor, the state police are investigating how and when someone (presumably Miller) removed the records from Cook Counseling Center. In October 2008, during the first and only formal police briefing we received, we requested that state police again look into the case of the missing files. The state police still have not told us what action (if any) they took on our request.

"The families have learned or discovered much in the past twenty-eight months – from police briefings in October 2008; through investigative reporting of the media; by our own review of the archives; at the meeting with the Virginia Tech administration; and not least via many family members' own dogged search for the truth. All of this information should have been available to the Virginia Tech Review Panel at the time of their investigation.

"While we appreciate the hard work of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, the report issued by the Panel contains grave errors, misinformation, and glaring omissions.

"We believe the panel needs to be reconvened, due to several factors: The time constraint the Panel worked under; the information withheld from the Panel; the erroneous information given to the panel; the information newly discovered by family members; the recent "discovery" of the missing files; and the panel's failure to interview Dr. Miller.

"For us, the Panel’s report serves two purposes: Acting as the official account of what happened before, during and after the largest school shooting in the history of the United States; and serving as a guideline for America's higher education institutions in planning, implementing & responding to a variety of health, safety & security concerns. We feel an incomplete and inaccurate report does not respect our loved ones, or us, and is potentially harmful to the public. We respectfully ask that Governor Kaine re-convene the panel. We consider the panel's report extremely valuable, and we cannot accept that the Commonwealth allows it to stand with errors of any kind.

"With that in mind, we ask any person with pertinent information or material facts to come forward to provide the panel the means to complete a thorough investigation. We also ask, as written in Governor Kaine's original Executive Order #53, that the panel 'offer the families of the deceased (and injured) the opportunity to provide input to the Panel publicly or privately and to offer those families who so desire an opportunity to be apprised periodically of the Panel's progress.'"

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The Governor of Virginia would do well to listen to these cries of the Virginia Tech families. If it is determined that a competent investigation cannot be conducted under the auspices of the Governor of Virginia, perhaps, as suggested in a May 31, 2009 article by VT professor Lucinda Roy, "an independent investigative panel, chaired by someone unaffiliated with the school or with the state, would be appointed by the U.S. Department of Education." In any case, the quest to honor the memories of their loved ones and to serve other college students and families throughout the nation must continue. The truth must be served.

READ MORE

Learning More From the Tragedy at Virginia Tech	Click here to visit site
Tech Massacre: More Questions	Click here to visit site
Families ask state to reopen Virginia Tech shooting investigation	Click here to visit site
Alerts not enough, Tech could be safer	Click here to visit site
Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities	Click here to visit site
Virginia Tech Blogs	Click here to visit site

In Remembrance: Detective Marc DiNardo, Jersey City Police Department

Detective Marc DiNardo, who died on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 after being shot in a gun battle on July 16th, was honored at his funeral by family and thousands of his fellow officers, fire & EMT personnel, community leaders and concerned citizens. He leaves behind a wife and three children. Det. DiNardo, 37, had served the people of Jersey City for 10 years as a member of the Jersey City Police Department.

The tragic death of Det. DiNardo sadly reminds us of the potential dangers faced each day by those in law enforcement who serve, protect and defend us. America must always remember and be grateful for those who have lost their lives in the line of duty and for those who continue to serve at the risk of their own safety.

Officer Melissa Bartholomew, a friend and police academy classmate of DiNardo offered heartfelt sentiments on behalf of the Jersey City Police Department and the family of Officer DiNardo: "He will be greatly missed. He had a personality you could never forget, and when he walked into a room we all loved him."

In Memoriam (2:40) Funeral Procession (7:31) Tribute (3:50)

<A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUjiH3QC_Z4">Play the clip on YouTube</A>

Please remember Det. DiNardo, his family, friends, fellow officers in the Jersey City Police Department and all emergency service personnel in your prayers as they seek consolation during this difficult time.

READ MORE

Officer Down Memorial Page

Click here to visit site

Found Mental Health Records Confirm Virginia Tech Crisis of Leadership

Two years after the murders of 32 people at Virginia Tech (VT), the missing mental health records of the killer have been found. Families of the tragedy had been informed by Virginia Tech that these documents were lost.

The finding of the files resulted from the discovery process of a civil suit against VT and the Commonwealth of Virginia by the Pryde and Petersen families who lost loved ones during the April 16, 2007 shootings. The records were found in the home of former Cook Counseling Center Director Robert C. Miller who is a defendant in the civil suit. The governor’s panel report did not have access to this file and accordingly this critical information was missing from their report. The panel did not interview Miller.

As detailed in the book Listen To Their Cries and the report entitled Crisis of Leadership: A Response to the Virginia Tech Panel Report, this new information punctuates the deficiency of leadership surrounding the tragedy:

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Listen To Their Cries, August 2008
Available at Amazon.com

"An honest and straightforward record of the events of April 16th must be provided to the Virginia Tech community and the nation. Since reason dictates that there were deficiencies in the actions on that day, those responsible must be held accountable—up to the highest levels of the university. Do we not owe it to those who lost their lives, those who were injured and all those affected by this tragedy?" Page 84

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Crisis of Leadership:
A Response To The Virginia Tech Panel Report, October 2007
Click here to view

"…the purpose of this document is to draw attention to the deficiencies of crisis management on that fateful day in April 2007 and continue the call for the accountability of those responsible for the safety of students, faculty and staff at Virginia Tech. This text will focus on the insufficiency of leadership and lack of judgment in order that the truth is served." Page 5

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Listen To Their Cries and Crisis of Leadership: A Response To The Virginia Tech Panel Report have been used with school districts, educational venues, the National Conference on Ethics in America at the United States Military Academy and law enforcement personnel so that the tragedy of Virginia Tech is served with truth, accountability and consequences.

READ MORE

Va Shooter's Mental Health Files Turn Up	Click here to visit site
Editorial: In Cook debacle: explanations owed	Click here to visit site
Cover Up claims over Virginia Tech gunmen's 'missing' records	Click here to visit site
Virginia Tech Blogs	Click here to visit site

5 Police Officers Shot in Jersey City: Follows Killings of Police in Philadelphia and Oakland

Over the past 15 years, I have had the privilege of working with many outstanding members of the Jersey City Police Department and Port Authority Police on numerous security, community policing and leadership initiatives. These experiences make the shooting of 5 police officers (4 from the Jersey City Police Department and 1 from the Port Authority Police) on Thursday, July 16, 2009 particularly distressing.

Other recent shootings of police this year, including Oakland, California when 4 officers were killed on March 22 and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 13 when another officer was killed, must make us pause to appreciate our law enforcement officers who put themselves in harm's way to protect us from the pervasive violence throughout our nation.

This morning I received an email entitled Pray for our brothers who stood up and protected us on July 16, 2009 from an officer in the Jersey City Police Department. The email reminds us that these brother officers represent the best in all of us and are in need of our prayers.

We would do well to reflect on Psalm 23 from this email as we pray for these officers:

PSALM 23

The LORD is my shepherd,
   I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness
   for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley
   of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for thou art with me;
   thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
   my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Michael Jackson: A Call for Insight, Understanding, and Action

As the world responds to the death of Michael Jackson, we must remember to open hearts to the importance of insight, understanding, and action. Jackson was a creative genius that touched the world through his music, dance and fashion, as well as through his dedication to philanthropy. Commonly referred to as the King of Pop, he is considered one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived.

For over 40 years, Jackson influenced culture throughout the world with not only his voice and dancing but trademark sequin glove, red leather jacket and his black fedora. Children across the globe imitated his every move as they watched his captivating videos.

Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, tallied 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles and the sale of an astonishing 750 million records. His 1982 Thriller album is the best selling release of all time with other best sellers including:

• Off the Wall (1979)
• Bad (1987)
• HIStory (1995)

Jackson donated millions of dollars to charities. He founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992 which was inspired by his song of the same name. This foundation enabled him to airlift more than 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo, institute drug and alcohol abuse education and donate millions to impoverished children. The following songs convey his passion for helping those in need:

We Are The World (7:10) Man In The Mirror (5:21) You Are Not Alone (5:45)

<A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxT21uFRwM">Play the clip on YouTube</A>

Despite his deserved recognition for these accomplishments, Michael Jackson was a troubled soul who spoke candidly with Oprah Winfrey in 1993 about the challenges of a not-so-normal childhood, abuse at the hands of his father, and his admission that he often cried from loneliness. He was also accused of child sexual abuse—which he vehemently denied and was acquitted on all counts. Due to the stress of these allegations, compounded by chronic pain resulting from a stage accident and from joint inflammation associated with lupus, Jackson began a downward spiral with painkillers. This addiction led to the deterioration of his health. The tabloids were merciless and cruel with the coverage of Jackson's trials and tribulations.

It is all to easy to make rash and vindictive judgments on the life of Michael Jackson. More importantly, his creative and charitable contributions to the world must be appreciated. The realities of his troubled soul, especially his childhood abuse, loneliness and prescription drug abuse must be responded to with insight, understanding and action to prevent these tragedies in the lives of others, especially the young. The words of Michael Jackson in his song Have You Seen My Childhood, which he described as the most intimately honest and autobiographical of his career, must remind us of the importance of molding the hearts of our children through our love, guidance and affirmation.

Finally, it is important to remember the humanity of Michael Jackson through the heart of his own 11-year-old daughter Paris, who touched millions at her father's memorial service while fighting back tears, by proclaiming:

"I just want to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love him so much."

READ MORE

Have You Seen My Childhood	Click here to visit site
Vincent Bove Blogs on Drugs	Click here to visit site