Mount Vernon — Thank you for your reply to my letter of June 3; although I must say your reply, if anything, gives me even more concern than I felt before, and I didn’t think that was possible. You say in your reply that “In response to a march 29, 2011, Board Item to establish a review process for the Fairfax County Police Department, the county’s Internal Audit Office issed a report” and that I could look up the report on the county’s website. Well, I did! You didn’t acknowledge that the Board Item was in response to numerous recommendations that an independent Police Oversight Review Board be established. Nor did you draw my attention to the fact that the so-called audit report doesn’t even discuss the subject of possible police misconduct. You must be aware of this. You have attempted to mislead me. I consider your actions totally unprofessional.
A report of the police investigation into my son’s death has never been released; although, clearly misconduct did take place. Otherwise, why was the officer who shot my son in the back, without any provocation, fired from the police force? The officer in question, David Scott Ziants, has never had to answer to anyone for his actions, and his supervisor, the then police chief, David Rohrer, who was responsible for the non-investigation, has now been promoted to the position of deputy county executive where, I am told, he draws a salary of $191,168 per year and a concurrent pension from the police force of $173,000 per year. I wonder if the citizens of Fairfax County know that their so-called public servant, instead of being held to account for years of police abuse and cover-ups, is now drawing compensation of about $365,00 per year from the taxpayers of Fairfax County.
I am a retired Army colonel and I don’t suffer fools gladly. You, Sharon Bulova, have tried to treat me as a fool, and it seems you and Mr. Rohrer are taking the citizens of Fairfax County for fools. I have tried for three years, unsuccessfully, to get some measure of justice for my son, David, and I still plan to reach this objective.
Barrie P. Masters
Sanford, Fla.