University of Virginia Library

Mr. Camblos' Decision

The decision of Charlottesville
Commonwealth's Attorney John T. Camblos
to not prosecute the final group of 26 people
arrested last May must certainly come as a
relief to those who faced the prospect of a
trial in this city.

We have a great deal of respect for Mr.
Camblos but feel that the remarks and
statement he made yesterday morning are
inaccurate and misleading.

The City Commonwealth's Attorney feels
that the arrest of 68 people in the early hours
of May 9, 1970 helped bring an end to the
"week-long period of lawlessness on the part
of University students and others who had
joined them." In fact, by arresting a pizza
delivery man, a buildings and grounds
employee, students attending parties on
Rugby Road, marshals trying to control the
crowd and a few demonstrators, the police
managed to "radicalize" a majority of
students overnight. If anything the police
through these arrests inflamed the students
and was only through the efforts of many
students, the administration (which had the
state police leave the Grounds) and a timely
speech by President Shannon that serious
disruptions were avoided.

Even so, the night following President
Shannon's speech saw a crowd of some 500
students block University Avenue in front of
the Rotunda. The Charlottesville Police, to
their credit, kept their cool and the evening
ended with only one arrest. With that incident
in mind it is difficult to understand how Mr.
Camblos could state "no further violence
occurred" after the arrests, if he considered
the events of Friday night and Saturday
morning violent.

Mr. Camblos seems to be quite proud that
"careful investigation" turned up no cases of
police misconduct, a fact which only
reinforces our opinion that citizens in this
state and community and the police
themselves have a great deal of tolerance for
some of the antics performed by professional
law enforcement officers.

The Commonwealth's Attorney states that
he could have convicted "most, if not all, of
those charged," but decided to do his bit to
keep relations between the city and the
university on a happy basis. We disagree.
Although there is little doubt that an order to
disperse was given before the police charged,
it is very difficult to find anyone who actually
heard that order. We are not so naive as to
believe that any prosecuting attorney will
drop charges against 26 individuals he feels
are guilty merely as a favor to the University.

We are more inclined to agree with Lauren
Selden, Executive Director of the ACLU of
Virginia who said of the arrests, "no violence
preceded the arrests; little, if any, police
warning was given to disperse. Many of those
arrested were dragged from their rooms as the
police combed the area in an apparent effort
to arrest for the sheer exercise of power. The
police bust was nothing less than an assault
against the system of law itself."

But perhaps the most galling statement Mr.
Camblos made was his suggestion that
students at the University 'have taken a much
more mature attitude towards those who
would disrupt the University and the
community" this fall. It seems to us as if Mr.
Camblos is saying that as long as students
don't make waves, he'll overlook a few
mistakes students may have committed. This
is almost a threat. Perhaps we read too much
into his statements, but he should understand
that stifled dissent only will erupt eventually
in a much more violent fashion.

We understand the political realities of Mr.
Camblos' office. But we feel that the man
who is largely responsible for enforcing the
law in Charlottesville should pay attention to
the facts before making such statements.