Harrisonburg Club Recognizes Area's Top Cop - Tech Massacre Investigator Addresses Group's Banquet
by Pete DeLea with permission from Daily News Record

Virginia State Trooper David Fisher was named as the area's top cop for 2008 by the Kiwanis Club.

HARRISONBURG - Every time David Fisher gets behind the wheel of his patrol car, the Virginia State Police trooper keeps his eyes peeled for drunken drivers on Interstate 81 and many of Rockingham County's roads.

For his dedication to his work and focus on drunken driving, Fisher was named "Lawperson of the Year," an annual award given by the Harrisonburg Kiwanis Club during a banquet Tuesday at Traditions Family Restaurant.

"He's one of those troopers that takes dedication to a new level," said 1st Sgt. Brian Hutcheson. "Any time he's working, you know he's out there being aggressive."

In 2007, Fisher made 59 driving under the influence arrests, and in the first three months of 2008, he's nabbed 21 drunken drivers.

Fisher received a regional award last year from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his efforts and also was recognized by the state police for his outstanding DUI enforcement in the Culpeper region, which includes Rockingham County.

"Any time I can get a DUI off the road, I'm saving the motoring public and the person I arrest," said Fisher, a nine-year state police veteran.

Hutcheson said Fisher, 33, takes his job seriously.

"If he goes a weekend without arresting a drunken driver, he considers it a failure," said Hutcheson. "He knows they're out there; it's just a matter of catching them."

Kiwanis Club Tradition

Each year, the Harrisonburg Kiwanis honors a member of the law enforcement community, rotating among the Harrisonburg Police Department, the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office and a Virginia State Police trooper serving in the county.

In 2006, the award was given to Sgt. Felicia Glick of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. Last year, the award was presented to Greg Miller, a Harrisonburg officer, who served as a school resource officer at Thomas Harrison Middle School.

"We feel like the law enforcement folks are real assets that put their lives on the line every day," said Matthew Light, president of the Harrisonburg Kiwanis Club. "It's just one way to give back to the community and recognize the sacrifices they make."

He said people in law enforcement work long hours in a dangerous career.

"We know these folks make great sacrifices for our sake," said Light, whose father is a former FBI agent who used to investigate motorcycle gangs. "I remember sitting at home in bed wondering if my dad was OK or not."

Former Harrisonburg Police Chief Julius Ritchie, a Kiwanis Club member who had perfect attendance at meetings for 52 years, created the award in 1969.

Ritchie, who served as chief for 27 years, was later a recipient of the award in 1974.

His son, Joe Ritchie, was in attendance for the presentation Tuesday.

"It's a wonderful recognition," said Ritchie, a special agent with the Virginia State Police. "It's great that the community acknowledges the work of law enforcement."

Tech Investigator Speaks

As part of the tradition, the Kiwanis Club invites a prominent law enforcement official to be the keynote speaker of the banquet.

This year, the club invited Col. Gerald Massengill, a retired superintendent of the Virginia State Police. Massengill served as the chief law enforcement official for the state following the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and, later, during the investigation into the "Beltway Sniper" shootings.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine called him out of retirement after last year's Virginia Tech massacre to lead a review panel investigating the shootings.

"When the governor called me and said, 'I need you,' I couldn't say no," said Massengill.

Massengill spoke on the challenges of the investigation into the shootings and the recommendations his panel made to the university, state and federal officials.

He said as the panel was forming, there was a lot speculation and suggestions made that it couldn't be objective - that the report would just be a cover-up of police miscues.

Massengill said that wasn't the case.

"There are a lot of lessons to be learned from Virginia Tech," he said. "We followed the facts to wherever they took us. We owed the families that much."

Early on, the panel met family members of the students and faculty killed. He recalled one mother's comment that she made to him regarding her daughter: "She was supposed to come home in three weeks with a master's degree ... instead she came home in a pine box."

He said comments like that hammered home the importance of the panel's work.

Later on during his speech, he outlined several things that worked well leading up to and following the Tech shootings, as well as several changes that must take place. One issue that needs attention, he said, is the mental health system.

"We have to do a better job at addressing mental health issues in this state," said Massengill, noting that neither the high school the shooter went to nor his doctors notified the university of the shooter's previous homicidal and suicidal tendencies. "He fell through the cracks. Had [Virginia Tech] known about what happened when he was in [high school], it may have been a different situation."