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FLEOA Defends Will Clark and Objects to VI Rep Belittling Battered Women Syndrome - 8/6/10

Posted in Press Pass on August 06, 2010

Federal Law Enforcement Officers Assoc Responds To Virgin Island Rep’s Insensitivity Towards Battered Women Syndrome

Lewisberry, PA – Today, FLEOA National President J. Adler announced that his membership strongly opposes a statement made by Virgin Islands Representative Donna M. Christensen regarding a female domestic abuse victim. In an attempt to discredit the heroic efforts of ATF Special Agent Will Clark who came to the rescue of a battered woman in a violent domestic situation, Representative Christensen wrote in her Dear Colleague letter, “Moreover, the domestic abuse victim to whose defense he (Clark) came has also stated that his response to the incident was excessive.” In effect, Representative Christensen concluded that Special Agent Clark used excessive force based on a statement made by the battered woman he rescued. It is important to note that at the time Special Agent Clark intervened in this violent domestic abuse situation, the female victim in question thanked him for saving her. Subsequent to the incident, she recanted her statement.  To Read More Click Here.

FLEOA Calls For Congress to Support Rep Lee's Resolution - 7/21/10

Posted in Press Pass on July 21, 2010

Dear FLEOA Members,

In support of Will Clark, Representative Lee has introduced his resolution calling for Congress to recognize Will for his heroic actions.

Please email the below release to your Representative ASAP. In your email message, please ask them to do two things:

1. Support Rep Lee's resolution honoring ATF Special Agent Will Clark;

2. Contact Virgin Islands Rep Christensen, and tell her that we will not tolerate them circumventing the rule of law and prosecuting hero Will Clark.

This is an absolute priority, so please take a few moments to forward Rep Lee's resolution to your Congressman/Congresswoman. The stakes are too high, and we can't let our FLEOA member and hero, Will Clark, Go It Alone.

Please stay safe,
-Jon


For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
 
Contact: Matthew Harakal
202-225-5265 (office)/202-591-5533 (cell)

Congressman Lee Introduces Resolution to Honor Local Hero
Lawmaker’s Resolution Praises Rochester Native and ATF Special Agent William G. Clark
 
WASHINGTON – Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) last night introduced a resolution honoring ATF Special Agent William G. Clark of Rochester. Congressman Lee’s resolution honors Special Agent Clark for his “heroic actions, exemplary service, and selfless acts to protect the lives of others.” The bipartisan resolution follows a letter Congressman Lee recently sent to House colleagues to inform them of the injustice being perpetuated against Special Agent Clark (to watch Congressman Lee speak about Special Agent Clark on the House Floor click HERE, to read the resolution click HERE, and to read Congressman Lee’s Dear Colleague letter click HERE).

In September 2008, Special Agent Clark was stationed in the U.S. Virgin Islands to combat rising gun violence. One morning he came across a domestic dispute between a neighbor and her boyfriend, who was drunk and on drugs. Special Agent Clark’s neighbor was being threatened and pleaded for his assistance. While protecting his female neighbor from being beaten, Special Agent Clark was charged by her boyfriend, who was swinging a large metal flashlight after he threatened to retrieve a gun. Special Agent Clark fired in self defense. The man subsequently died from his injuries and Special Agent Clark is now being charged with second degree murder as well as additional charges.

“Will was protecting the life of an innocent neighbor, and he acted in accordance with his training and law enforcement responsibility to serve and protect those in danger,” said Congressman Chris Lee. “Law enforcement personnel put their lives on the line every day, and they deserve to know that they can perform their necessary duties while protecting our communities. Will is a hero and he and law enforcement officers everywhere shouldn’t need to worry about consulting with their lawyers before doing what they’ve been trained to do.”
 
A Justice Department incident review panel, which included law enforcement agencies apart from ATF, has cleared Special Agent Clark, who remains on active duty. The panel unanimously found that Special Agent Clark “was acting within his scope of employment and authority. [His] actions were in compliance with ATF policies and procedures including whether the use of deadly force was necessary. [Lastly,] there was no evidence of misconduct or inappropriate action” on the part of Special Agent Clark. The Justice Department is bearing the costs of Clark’s legal defense.

Despite being cleared by a Justice Department review panel and Special Agent Clark’s federal immunity as a result of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Virgin Islands has proceeded with a criminal trial against Special Agent Clark, with a trial date set for October of this year.

Senator Schumer, Rep Lee and FLEOA Speak Out For Hero Will Clark - 7/19/10

Posted in Press Pass on July 21, 2010

WASHINGTON—New York lawmakers are speaking out on behalf of a federal agent from upstate New York who is facing a murder charge in the U.S. Virgin Islands for shooting a man who was involved in an angry confrontation with his girlfriend.
 
Supporters of William Clark say he acted to protect the woman's life and his own, but prosecutors charge he used excessive force in a situation that did not require him to fire his weapon. Besides the disputed facts of the case, it has also raised novel legal questions on an island paradise beset by violent crime.  To Read More Click Here.

FLEOA Denounces V.I. Rep's Letter and Defends Hero Will Clark - 7/15/10

Posted in Press Pass on July 20, 2010

On July 14th, 2010, Virgin Island Congresswoman Christensen released a Dear Colleague letter attacking both Congressman Lee and hero ATF Special Agent Will Clark. While her letter amounts to an ineffective attempt to defend the Virgin Islands broken judicial system, she demonstrates her contempt for following proper legal procedure.

Additionally, her letter was a biased, unprofessional attack on Will Clark. Her comments will undoubtedly taint the mindset of the Virgin Island citizenry and  be prejudicial to the Virgin Island jury pool. The net effect of her biased statements, in conjunction with the Criminal Information that was filed with material omissions, will inevitably deny Will Clark a fair trial.

Given the Information's material omissions and the Congresswoman's accusatory remarks, the prosecution should be immediately deferred, pending an independent review. If the Virgin Island government had respect for the American rule of law, they would request that the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, be brought in to conduct a thorough, impartial investigation.

Unfortunately, they have opted to ignore the reasonable option, and instead continue to enjoy the American taxpayer dollars that fund their self-serving senseless legal system.  Read FLEOA's Press Release...

President Adler Defends Hero Will Clark on the Smerconish Radio Show - 7/11/10

Posted in Press Pass on July 19, 2010

President Adler Defends Hero Will Clark on the Smerconish Radio Show - 7/11/10 (click Link to download MP3)

FLEOA Supports Carnival's Decision to Stop Shore Excursions in the Virgin Islands - 7/19/10

Posted in Press Pass on July 19, 2010

As professionals we were saddened to hear of the violent shooting death of 14-year-old Lizmarie Perez Chapparro who on July 12 was caught in the crossfire of a gun battle on St. Thomas in the area of Coki Beach.  The loss of any child is a loss to all and we will keep her family in our prayers.

Unfortunately, as professionals we feel that the violence on the US Virgin Islands is epidemic and Lizmarie may not be the last victim of this violence.  The US Virgin Island's police forces appear incapable of policing the islands and have been wrought with mass corruption, including many recent arrests and convictions of corrupt police officers.  To Read More Click Here...

FLEOA Testifies at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing about OWCP issues faced by Federal Law Enforcement Officers - 7/21

Posted in Press Pass on July 19, 2010

FLEOA National President Jon Adler was invited to testify at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about OWCP issues faced by federal law enforcement officers. The invitation was offered by Chairman Lynch of the Sub-committee on Oversight, the Federal Workforce and Postal Service. President Adler was joined by FLEOA Legislative VP Duncan Templeton and USSS Agency President Donald Mihalek. At the hearing, President Adler highlighted the critical nature of the injuries endured by federal law enforcement officers and the inequities suffered under the current OWCP system, including the financial strain placed on them by an unsupportive OWCP system. FLEOA would like to commend Chairman Lynch for holding this hearing, and for his responsiveness to the issues we raised.

Read the Hearing Invitation

Read the OWCP Hearing

House Website Link for Hearing

Washington Post article - FLEOA/OWCP - 7/22/10

Posted in Press Pass on July 18, 2010

Getting compensation shouldn't be so hard for federal workers hurt on the job

By Joe Davidson

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Working for the federal government should not be hazardous to employees' health.

But when it is, Uncle Sam should not be as stingy as he was made out to be during a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Leaders of employee organizations, including those representing baggage screeners and federal firefighters, provided one example after another of the government's failure to care, either promptly or at all, for federal workers who were injured on the job.

Consider these stories from Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association:

-- On Sept. 11, 2001, Secret Service Special Agent Mike Vaiani ran into the World Trade Center, attempting to rescue those inside. He seriously injured his neck, shoulders and back in the process.

First, the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs lost his file. Then he started getting dunned for unpaid medical bills.

"After enduring this miserable process," Adler told the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the federal workforce, "Vaiani stated, 'I would rather run back into the tower while it's on fire than have to deal with the Department of Labor.' "

-- Postal Inspector Bill Paliscak went to the Brentwood postal facility in Northeast Washington when anthrax-contaminated mail was discovered in 2001. Paliscak became ill as a result of anthrax exposure. The compensation office initially denied his claim. It was accepted in May 2002, but not before his credit was ruined and his medical care was disrupted.

-- Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Tim Chard participated in the dismantling of 100 meth labs between 2000 and 2007. In 2008, he began to suffer from pain and other symptoms apparently connected to meth lab toxins. The compensation office rejected his claim, so the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation paid for him to enter a treatment program.

"The common denominator from these horror stories is the OWCP is unable to effectively process claims filed by injured law enforcement officers," Adler said. A denial of a claim, or delay in processing it, can exacerbate medical problems and financially ruin employees, he told the panel, because once they say a health problem is work-related, private insurance will not cover it.

Shelby Hallmark, director of the compensation program, testified before Adler spoke and did not respond to the specific examples Adler offered. Hallmark, in his prepared statement, said his office "is dedicated to promptly adjudicating claims, promptly paying medical bills and claims for compensation."

He told Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) that his office does not make payments while a claim is being adjudicated. For complicated cases, the agency's goal is to decide on a claim within six months, he said.

Of course, a complicated case might be one that involves a complicated and serious ailment that is expensive to fix. A six-month wait could be devastating in those circumstances.

Those complicated cases sometimes involve illnesses, such as cancer, that might have been caused when an employee came in contact with a toxin while working. These cases require lots of detailed medical evidence to establish the link between the illness and the job.

The claims acceptance rate for occupation illnesses was only 52 percent last year, compared with a 90 percent rate for traumatic injuries, such as being cut by work equipment, Hallmark told the panel.

The subcommittee's hearing comes two days after President Obama announced his POWER Initiative, an acronym for Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment. He expects the program to reduce federal workplace injuries and cut lost time.

Obama cited more than 79,000 new claims and more than $1.6 billion in workers' compensation payments in fiscal 2009. "Executive departments and agencies can and should do even more to improve workplace safety and health, reduce the financial burden of injury on taxpayers, and relieve unnecessary suffering by workers and their families," he said.

Just before the hearing, the subcommittee held a business meeting where it approved legislation to enhance training for federal supervisors. Under the bill, supervisors would receive training within one year of entering their new positions and every three years after that.

The panel, chaired by Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.), also advanced legislation that calls on the Office of Personnel Management to use a different method to calculate payments by the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service to the Civil Service Retirement System. After recalculating the payments, the legislation directs OPM to transfer any Postal Service surplus in payments already made to the USPS Retiree Health Benefits Fund.

Estimates of the surplus range from $55 billion to $75 billion.

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