I'm posting this here because several of you showed interest in this trainwreck yesterday. This is follow-up on the testimony of Leah Burton regarding WAR's (Wayne Anthony Ross) disdain towards women. If it wasn't made clear before, Leah Burton is the daughter of former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Richard Burton who served here in that capacity for many years back in the '80s and '90s. According to Shannyn Moore, he has written this letter to Mr. Ross:
http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/burton-letter-part-two-wars-response/From Leah Burton’s Dad:
Mr. Ross,
You may or may not remember the times when we met but I remember you very vividly. The purpose of this communication is over concern for my daughter first and your attempt to be confirmed as the Attorney General, a job for which I know you had long aspirations, as well as thinking you could be the Commissioner of Health and Social Services or the Commissioner of Public Safety, none of which you are qualified for.
I was told today that you deny knowing or associating with the Mad Dads group in Wasilla. Surely records of filings in the court must still be available so that you can produce proof of who your clients were. This is the same group that my daughter witnessed you addressing and making sexist and demeaning comments in reference to spousal rape and domestic violence, which as I see it means physical abuse of the spouse by the husband. Considering the group to which you were speaking that is the only logical conclusion one could draw from such remarks. I’m also assuming that you may have made these remarks in order to appear as a macho man in front of such a gathering. First of all, I want to caution you on what you say but can’t prove and to advise you that if this kind of slander and attacks on my daughter continue you may well meet a real attorney that knows how to win.
In over 30 years in law enforcement in Alaska, as a police advisor for the U.S State Dept and the Dept of justice, I have met and worked with many quality professionals in the field and let me say that you do not rank among this group. I worked the street as a young patrol officer starting in Ketchikan in 1954, joined the Alaska State Police in 1959 and ended my career by serving two separate terms as Commissioner of Public Safety for the 2 best Governors in Alaska, Jay Hammond and Wally Hickel. (In the interest of brevity I will attach my resume for you perusal as I want to establish my bona fides for the remarks I am about to make).
You sir, speak and act like the kind of bully I met many times when responding to domestic violence calls, some of the most dangerous situations police officers are often in. Over the years I brought many an abused spouse and/or children to my own home for my wife to care for, because there was no place else to take them. As the state matured such offices came into being on a scale large enough to expand their services, which we in law enforcement welcomed. This was especially true in the “bush” rural areas of the state in which I worked as a roving patrol trooper or where I was stationed.
Contrary to what you recently told the Judiciary Committee about the Child Welfare workers being hell bent on taking kids away from their families my personal experience was just the opposite. I had to take many children into protective custody, and even in the most dangerous of situations the welfare workers' attitude was that a child was always better off staying with their natural parents regardless of the circumstances. Not a decision that I could always agree with. Therefore I am totally surprised at your comments and I challenge you to provide actual proof that supports that allegation.
Shortly after retirement in 1995 I served on a committee, hired by the Department of Law, with a former Deputy Attorney General and Commissioner of Corrections. We were tasked to perform an investigation into the performance of the child protection unit, following a very unfortunate set of circumstances concerning the killing of an infant who was under the protection of the state at the time of his murder. The child should have been removed from the home but was allowed to stay there under very dangerous circumstances and was killed in a very bizaare and gruesome manner. The bottom line in this case we found that children were being left in home circumstances in many cases when the right thing to do would have been removal. This resulted in changes of the child protection statutes and policies of the agencies concerned which also included the relationship between children and adult probation sharing of information.
The only conclusion I have been able to come to concerning your remarks about the “frightening” case workers is that you really don’t know what you are talking about and are just talking to try to impress someone that you may have some knowledge about the subject.
In light of the strong reaction from the native and rural communities of the state and your obvious position and bias relative to domestic and children’s issues I find it hard to believe that you could be in charge of the department that is charged with enforcing laws in an impartial or effective manner. I think you should do the state a favor and withdraw your name from confirmation.
Richard L Burton
Commissioner of Public Safety (retired)
RESPONSE BY WAYNE ANTHONY ROSS:
Dick: Thanks for writing. I’ll pray for you and for your daughter. Sounds like both of you have problems. My best to you old friend, WAR
WOW! Prolific, don’t you think?
Good grief. If this guy gets confirmed, pray for ALASKA, DUers.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
