A free society rests on the necessary presumption that the rule of law prevails; no individual is above the law.
We know that principle has unfortunate exceptions. Sometimes it is abused by the well-connected or the well-heeled. We witnessed one of those exceptions this week in Clarksburg.
Last April, Clarksburg police were called to the home of Sam “Zeke” Lopez and his wife, Linda, to investigate a report of domestic violence. Zeke Lopez is a long-time Clarksburg councilman and one-time mayor.
It is alleged that Lopez pushed his wife to the floor, hit her with a rolling pin and dumped food on her. But Zeke Lopez was not arrested until three months after the incident.
Why?
U.S. Attorney Bill Ihlenfeld, who started looking into the case after a tip from the public, says Clarksburg Police Chief Marshall Goff and Lieutenant Tim Smith interfered in the alleged domestic abuse investigation, and then lied to federal investigators when questioned.
Yesterday, Ihlenfeld announced that Goff and Smith had resigned to avoid prosecution for civil rights violations and making false statements to federal agents. As part of the agreement, the two will cooperate with the ongoing investigation and they are barred from ever working as police officers again.
Councilman Lopez eventually turned himself in, but only after last month’s municipal election where he was re-elected to a fifth term. He’s free on $2,500 bond, facing one count of misdemeanor domestic battery.
Of course Lopez enjoys a presumption of innocence. However, if he used his position to try to get the police to back off the investigation, that would be a serious abuse of the public trust and he should resign.
As for Goff and Smith, their interference in the investigation undermines the credibility of the police. How could the public have faith in the Clarksburg police enforcing the law equally when the Lopez case demonstrated that a well-known public official could get special treatment?
Last year, Ihlenfeld created a special task force in his office to investigate public corruption. “One of the most important things I can do as a United States Attorney is to make sure that we keep our public officials honest,” Ihlenfeld said at yesterday’s news conference.
The Clarksburg Police Department scandal is hardly the worst example of public officials abusing their position. It might warrant only a page or two if state Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry ever updates his 532-page tome on public corruption in the state (Don’t Buy a Another Vote. I Won’t Pay For A Landslide).
However, it serves as an important reminder that laws must be applied equally, and when they are not, there are consequences.