For Those Of Us Who Can Read:

JADE IS NOT AN UNDERCOVER TASK FORCE.

TattleTail

Ring… Ring…
“Newsroom.”
“Hi. I don’t know if y’all are interested in this sort of thing or not, but the JADE Task Force just raided a house out here.”
“Yeah -- we knew they were out tonight; we just didn’t know where.”
“Ah. Well, they’re on […].”
“[…]? Spell that.”
“Sure. It's […].”
“Where is that?”
“Not too far from where you’re located. GPS it.”
“How long have they been there?”
“About 15 minutes.”
“Great, thanks!”
Click.

From Brain To Bullet List

I’ve been mulling over the recent Grand Marc Meth story.

Earlier this week local Charlottesville media reported an apartment in their city was a “suspected Meth lab” or “possible drug lab.” The allegation gained support when Lt. Don Campbell, speaking on behalf of JADE, said upon inquiry “we think it’s possibly some type of drug lab.” The Lieutenant also stated that the chemicals discovered had been sent elsewhere “to find out what exactly we have.”

Though there are conflicting accounts regarding whether two people were found inside the apartment or had returned to it at a later time, one thing that seems to be certain is no arrests were made.

• Forget the media, let’s get right to JADE. “Think” it is? “Possibly”? What kind of low-level nitwit-filled Narcotics Task Force are we talking about here that doesn’t know if what it stumbled into is a drug lab?
• Perhaps actually Lt. Campbell and his team know exactly what it is, they just don’t want anyone to know they know. They’re being shrewd. After all they haven’t made any arrests yet.
• Maybe they can’t charge anyone without confirmation from the place they sent the chemicals to. Red tape and all that jazz.
• No matter if JADE can or can’t identify drug-making grounds, those two suspects connected to the apartment would know if they'd been operating a drug lab. Come. On.
  
• If I was running a Meth lab and I hadn’t been arrested when Drug Enforcement uncovered it, I wouldn’t hang around waiting for them to get back the results of their lab tests. Voy a Tijuana! Or at least Florida.
• Is the Drug Task Force hoping to flip someone in this -- you know cultivate informants? JADE wouldn’t be able to function without informants. Take away their snitches and they got nothing. I’m just sayin’.
• Could it be the “suspects” already are JADE informants?
• A Meth lab, it may not even be.
  
• Media have altered initial coverage. That makes it more challenging to get to the bottom of things.

Ya Didn't Really Think I'd Let This One Slide By, Did Ya?

Dear Police Chief Longo,

I can’t help but notice that while you’ve ordered me to not do the same, other media appear to be permitted to publicize images and personally identifiable information of your Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement (JADE) Task Force Officers with impunity.

Surely you would concede that a major televising Charlottesville news station and its subsidiary website have a larger audience than my individual Internet blog. If that's indeed the case, I would think your prior communications with me about the aforesaid matter would not only apply to them, and similar mainstream mediums, but so much more so.

I don’t expect you to rescind your order -- especially in lieu of the fact that I’ve ignored it (on the grounds that I believe you have no authority to issue such a command) -- but I would be interested in hearing your justification for the divergence.

If you would like to discuss this with me, you may call anytime; feel free to get my number from any one of the several officers who has it.

Sincerely,

JADE blog

Dear TF Jade,

My name is Tasha Kates, and I'm a reporter for the Daily Progress. I came across your blog this afternoon while looking for information on another crime.

I would like to speak with you about your blog. If you're interested, please e-mail me back or give me a call at 978-7265.

Thanks!
Tasha

Tasha Kates
The Daily Progress
434-978-7265