VLP's on the front page

verylowpriority · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:19 am Post subject: VLP's on the front page

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5837230.html

(also published in today's San Antonio Express-News)

Governor's Mansion alarms broken when arsonist struck
By GARY SCHARRER

AUSTIN — An alarm system designed to alert state troopers if someone
penetrated the walled grounds of the Governor's Mansion was not working
when an arsonist torched the 152-year-old Texas landmark, sources
familiar with the mansion's security said Friday.

The system has been inoperative for at least four weeks, despite
complaints by some Department of Public Safety troopers that it could
imperil mansion security.

When it was working, a system beaming infrared rays would trigger an
alarm alerting state troopers in a carriage house behind the mansion if
an intruder had scaled a wall and reached the mansion grounds.

State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado confirmed this week that security
cameras captured video images early Sunday morning of someone lighting
an object and hurling it onto the front porch.

The rapidly spreading fire caused near catastrophic damage to the
historic building that has served as the home for Texas governors
dating back to Sam Houston.

One state trooper said he broke down and cried when he saw TV images of
the mansion on fire because he knew it probably could have been
averted.

Earlier this spring, DPS asked the Texas Facilities Commission to
inspect the defective infrared alarm system because one of the
commission's technicians was familiar with it.

Because it could not be immediately repaired, DPS authorized the return
of the infrared system to the manufacturer for an overhaul, said Edward
Johnson, the executive director of the Facilities Commission, which is
overseeing the mansion renovation. He could not estimate how long it
will take to repair the system.

Some troopers complained they could not adequately monitor the mansion
grounds without the alarm system working.

"Had it been working, you would have known that somebody had entered
the property right away," said one of them, who requested anonymity.
"If they fixed that alarm, (the fire) might not have happened."

Problems with equipment

DPS troopers "are as upset about (the mansion fire) as everybody else
is," said Austin lawyer Don Dickson, who represents the Texas State
Troopers Association.

"Equipment failures are not uncommon at the DPS," Dickson said. "We
have troopers all over Texas who have been notifying their supervisors
that their cameras don't work or this doesn't work or that doesn't
work. And it's hell getting them replaced."

Dickson confirmed that "one of my clients notified (DPS superiors) that
the infrared system was inoperable."

DPS officials said they could not comment about complaints of the
broken security system.

"The fire at the Governor's Mansion is still under investigation, and I
will not be able to discuss anything until the investigation is
completed," DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said.

The agency cut back its mansion security last year after Gov. Rick
Perry and his wife, Anita, moved out at the start of a $10 million
renovation project.

Only one DPS trooper was on duty when an arsonist started the fire
early Sunday morning.

"We said from the beginning that it needed to be guarded the same or
close to" the levels necessary when the governor and his family
occupied the home, said Johnson, the Facilities Commission executive.
"Protecting the mansion is a very important endeavor."

Several sources, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions
from supervisors, said DPS officials balked at the cost of deploying
additional state troopers when the infrared monitoring system broke
down.

The Facilities Commission oversees the design and construction of most
state buildings and renovation projects and holds leases for about 10
million square feet of office space across Texas.

The commission owned and operated the Governor's Mansion until the
Legislature transferred that property to the State Preservation Board
last year. The Preservation Board then hired the Facilities Commission
to oversee the major renovations at the Governor's Mansion until last
weekend's fire.

The commission has no authority over security at the mansion.

"If it were me that was in charge of security and I had my (infrared
alarm) system in the shop, I would have substituted that with armed
guards at the gates or at all the corners," Johnson said. "You don't
under-secure the mansion."

Several video security cameras at the Governor's Mansion also were not
working.

"Had all the cameras been working, (troopers) would have had better
camera angles," one of the sources familiar with the system said.

'Hard questions' remain

The governor this week said he is interested in any security lapses.
Perry said he also wants answers to "the hard questions."

"What was working? What wasn't working? ... You are asking the right
questions," he said. "There is an appropriate time to answer those
questions.

"It's not for me to be asking those in a public forum and me to be
talking about them prior to our ability to find out as much of the
background on this as we can," he said.

Several DPS troopers said even officers not assigned to guard the
mansion had become aware of the broken alarm system, and some expressed frustration that the agency would be blamed for the fire.

They said they could not be publicly identified because of the
possibility of demotion or losing their jobs.

gscharrer@express-news.net

Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com
_________________
NHrow7 (1996-2006)

**Shanny** · The Goddess Joined: 11 Feb 2007 Posts: 1509

VLP also got air-time on News 8. Heard the name around 4:30/5:00 this am...damn sunburn kept me from sleeping! Gonna blame it on saaha and wanker!

_________________
I'm not judging you.
I just think you're stupid.

verylowpriority · Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 7:03 pm Post subject:

I Googled my name this afternoon and almost fainted. Thanks a bunch, AP. :-/
_________________
NHrow7 (1996-2006)

verylowpriority · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:44 pm Post subject:

Sweet jeebers....today I got -really- famous.

The more I talk to reporters, the less I like 'em.
_________________
NHrow7 (1996-2006)

**Shanny** · The Goddess Joined: 11 Feb 2007 Posts: 1509

I just saw you on KXAN! Wtg, VLP!!!
_________________
I'm not judging you.
I just think you're stupid.

verylowpriority · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject:

It's unfortunate that some papers (Dallas Morning News) and some TV stations (ABC, NBC) have zeroed-in on the issue of whether there "should" have been two Troopers at the GM. I told them it was "customary" to have two. There's an old saying from the early days of the Texas Rangers: "One riot, one Ranger." I don't know how many uniformed Texas State Troopers it takes to screw in the proverbial light bulb, but I think one is not necessarily insufficient to be on patrol around an empty house surrounded by one iron fence and one eight-foot-tall construction fence, at 1:45 a.m. on a Sunday.

I'm not throwing any rocks at the DPS, whether the Department was "negligent" in protecting the GM will all "come out in the wash." The DPS can speak for itself if and when it pleases. But I'll be damned if anyone is going to scapegoat any individual Trooper on this deal. The Troopers took care of their business.
_________________
NHrow7 (1996-2006)

bk · Gross Misconduct Joined: 11 Feb 2007 Posts: 1055

Well VLP you weren't quoted for "pile on DPS" day in today's fishwrapper. You're having a fun week I bet.
_________________
“I’m so frustrated with the business. If you look at my junior stats, there’s a lot of guys that come out of juniors with those kind of stats that sign pretty big contracts.” --James Hiebert

verylowpriority · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

Ohh yeah it's been fun alright. It's actually a pleasure to see a newspaper article about the mansion fire that doesn't have my name in it. I Googled my name the other day and found myself in newspapers I didn't know existed.

And tonight, I think you'll find me on KXAN.

TGIF. TG, TG, TG.

Tell you what's funny though -- I've butted heads with the DPS every day for the last twelve years....I never thought I'd live to see the day when the Chairman of the Public Safety Commission would be stickin' it up the Department's ass at the same time that I'm on TV defending it.

The fact of the matter is that even if the gadgets had all been working, and even if Colonel Davis himself had personally rewritten the security plan for the Mansion a week before the fire, there was still only one pair of boots available to guard that property -- and he had to overstay his shift by four hours to have even ONE pair of boots guarding that property.

If you're a young person interested in a career in law enforcement, there are simply too many good reasons to choose the Pflugerville PD over the DPS. Until the Legislature and the Department get serious about improving Troopers' pay, benefits and working conditions, the situation will get worse before it ever gets any better.
_________________
NHrow7 (1996-2006)

chiroptera · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:34 am Post subject: