"They just obviously wanted to get someone," said Rorke.
A Walk on the BeachCove Point Beach is one of the best places to find shark's teeth, according to Ken Pritchard. He said he had offered to host a beach walk at low tide on Sunday morning.
He was surprised to hear that one of the deputies had mentioned him by name, had in fact repeatedly tried to coax his name out of his guests. "People were invited to my house on Sunday," he said. "I did not courtesy copy the Calvert County Sheriff's Department," he added dryly.
We Are Cove Point, a group which opposes Dominion's expansion of the LNG plant, had called for a "gentle challenge" to efforts to limit public access to the beach around the lighthouse. It is the tip of the water boundary of Dominion's facility. Private security and county deputies have been shooing locals off the beach, though they admit it is perfectly legal for them to be there.
Later, Sgt. Steve Jones told a local newspaper that he didn't know about any gathering of people who oppose the Dominion project. "I wish they had told me about Sunday's event," Officer Jones told Baynet. "We didn't know what to expect. Had we known we could have helped them."
Whether his helpful attitude is sincere or not, Sgt. Jones is ignoring the fact that out-of-state visitors to Cove Point are typically not treated suspiciously. The Cove Point Lighthouse hosts many weddings with out-of-town guests. An event took place there the very same day, according to Donny Williams, and cars with out-of-state tags were parked in the neighborhood.
At Dominion's Beck and Call?Williams said that after Dominion head of security Lou Blancato's prompt arrival on the scene, he stayed only long enough to get a report from Officer Sloane. Two other men from Dominion security observed "the illegal stop and search which Dominion is paying for," as Matt Weaver described it.
The conversion of Dominion Cove Point from an LNG import terminal into an export terminal has divided the county between those who look forward to jobs and tax dollars and those who are frightened for their health and safety.
Some think that a risk analysis conducted by the state several years ago shows that the facility was never safe to begin with--the possibility of an ignitable vapor cloud was too great for a residential area housing thousands of people. In addition to the increased risk of liquefying natural gas onsite, they will have to breathe copious toxic emissions too.
Because of its connection to fracking, Cove Point LNG has also been a flashpoint for controversy around the country and attracted "outsiders" to the opposition camp.
A six-mile walk on Saturday, May 30 from Solomons Island to the Cove Point terminal--with almost two hundred people participating--shows that hope of stopping the project, in spite of all the permits approved and construction in progress, hasn't died.
"We have a lot of momentum on our side right now," Williams said.
He also believes, as others do, that Dominion views them as a serious threat and is taking measures to undermine, harass and intimidate them, using the sheriff's deputies, also known as the Special Ops team, as their private security force. The stop and search and Rorke's arrest were just one example of this.
Dominion is paying the Calvert County Sheriff's Office $1.5 million, he said, "to have members of the Special Operations Team at Dominion's beck and call whenever the company desires them while they are also on-duty as public servants." (In fiscal year 2014, Dominion provided approximately $1.2 million to the Sheriff's Office, according to the County Administrator in a June 2014 letter to Dominion Cove Point.)
"I'm afraid of what's happening with police, of Dominion's influence on police, what they feel their main job is," said Caitlyn Rorke. "Whatever your opinion on [Dominion Cove Point], having a police force that all that citizens can trust and depend on is a really vital thing."
Dominion has billions at stake with Cove Point LNG. In their official capacity, ten sheriff's deputies serve the interest of public welfare and safety, but instead appear to be protecting the interests of a private corporation, one which pays their salaries. It all comes down to the double-sided badge. When, in an instant, an officer's badge can flip from black to white and back again, citizens in Calvert County can justifiably ask, "Who do you work for?"
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
2
