To the Editor:
Kudos and thanks for your recent editorials voicing the concern of many Fairfax County citizens in connection with the investigation of police shootings.
James Madison said of government that we must "oblige it to control itself" through checks and balances, including vigilant oversight of administration. It is difficult to conceive where Board of Supervisors oversight is more needed than over a group--even a group as honorable and courageous as our police officers--entrusted to exercise coercive powers, up to and including life and death. The Board of Supervisors should fulfill that oversight function, starting with investigative hearings into the reasons for the secrecy shrouding the shootings identified in your editorial. State Sen. Barbara Favola and our new Del. Kathleen Murphy may also wish to consider whether to propose statutory changes to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Bruce Ellis Fein
Great Falls