Following our public records request (actually, on the same day) the Maryland Transportation Authority Police (MDTA) posted the following statement on their FaceBook Page:
In response to a recent complaint about the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police and a Jan. 12, 2014, Tampa Tribune article, a preliminary review indicates that all proper protocols were followed throughout the Dec. 30, 2013, 55-minute traffic stop on I-95, which was initiated for a speeding violation. The MDTA takes these allegations seriously and will continue to investigate this personnel matter. (link)
As we wait for the records of the incident it’s interesting to note the position of the MTA.
If “proper protocols were followed” then why did the MDTA Chief and Internal Affairs apologize to Mr. Filippidis? Also, if “proper protocols were followed” then why then is this a “personnel matter“?
Apply logic between the parseltongue and you can come away with a possibility the MDTA wants attention on the officer rather than on the actual capability which allowed the officer to make his assumptions.
Their initial response reeks of similarity to James Clapper’s initial response when he was asked by congress if the NSA was collecting information on U.S. citizens. Our curiosity is really peaked now because Occam’s razor would infer the MDTA wants to present this as a “personnel matter” for how an officer responded. That’s not the real issue.
The bigger issue is what technology existed, which is used by MDTA, and spurred the officer to know Mr. Filippidis was a CCW holder. THAT is the bigger interest.
It’s not what the officer DID with the information, it’s why the officer HAD the information to begin with. In addition, did the fact the incident happened at one of the Federal Homeland Security sensitive site areas, the Fort McHenry Tunnel, have any bearing on the technology capability used by the state authority encountered. (more…)