In
July of 1998, a woman named Diana Elizabeth Tyler wrote a bum check. (For $ 261.25 to a Lorton antiques
store. The check was returned because
the bank account had been closed.)
She
didn’t show up for her court case and on the day in question was stopped by
police for erratic driving (On an expired license). Tyler made a run for it and sped her 1995
Oldsmobile down Richmond Highway. The
chase ended in the parking lot of a shopping center.
When
Tyler, who was unarmed, refused to leave her car…..the cops said she struggled but
Tyler said she didn’t struggle….the cops shot her in the neck. The good news (for the cops) was that they
got to use one of their helicopters to fly Tyler to the hospital.
The
police were very, very quick to release Tyler’s name and address to the press
but refused to give a single name of any one of the eight cops involved in the
shooting nor would they explain why Tyler was shot. Warren R. Carmichael, a Fairfax police
spokesman, said the investigation of the police investigation the police “could
take several weeks to complete.”
We
don’t know if it took that long or not.
The results of the investigation, if in fact there was one were never
released to the public. Carmichael,
however, said "Given the circumstances of the chase, the fact that weapons
may have been drawn is appropriate" The Board of supervisors said and did
nothing.
WRITE
A BAD CHECK, WE SHOOT YOU, STEAL LIKE A COMMON THIEF, WE SUE YOU
On
January 13, 1997, reports were that the Fairfax County Police Association was
suing its former president alleging he spent thousands of dollars on personal
items.