West Virginia cop continually harasses local news editor

August 25, 2009 @ 12:14AM

West Virginia cop continually harasses local news editor

By Carlos Miller -...

Cpl. Doug Starcher, right, moments before he confiscated the camera. (Photo by Bob Weaver/Hur Herald)

An editor of a West Virginia online newspaper had his camera confiscated after photographing in the direction of a federal building last month by the same cop who arrested him three years earlier for photographing a traffic accident.

There is obviously some bad blood between Cpl. Doug Starcher of the West Virginia State Police and Bob Weaver, editor of the Hur Herald of Calhoun County.

In last month’s incident, Weaver responded to an alleged bomb threat at a U.S. Army Reserve Armory in Big Bend, which Weaver describes as one of “the lowest classified facilities in the country, generally unoccupied except by a couple of people during daylight hours.”

Weaver snapped three photos, none in which the armory can be clearly seen, not that it would make a difference. This prompted Starcher to tell Weaver that it was illegal to photograph a federal building.

Starcher ended up wrestling the camera away from him. The camera was returned three days later.

In Feb. 2006, Weaver was photographing the scene of a fatal traffic accident when Starcher ordered him to stop taking photos. Weaver actually complied and began walking back to his car, prompting Starcher to follow and arrest him.

Starcher accused him of photographing the exposed breasts of a dead accident victim. He also told his superior that Weaver was a “cop hater” (sound familiar?).

And there have been other instances.

One incident was in the presence of members of the Arnoldsburg Fire Department, who said they were baffled by the officers behavior.

In that case, Weaver was getting in his vehicle to leave as Starcher was arriving on scene, but Starcher claimed he saw Weaver rifling through the wrecked vehicle, the accusation was not supported by members of the fire department.

That night the fire department made Weaver an honorary member.

While taking pictures of a house fire at Minnora, Starcher verbally placed Weaver under arrest for trespassing, which was not a justified complaint. Starcher decided not to press charges.

Weaver says there have been other incidents by State Police violating first amendment rights, contending that any person, not just a reporter, has the right to take plain-view photos.

In a previous incident Trooper Fred Hammack walked into a pasture field where Weaver was photographing an accident scene, demanding him to cease picture taking.

Weaver filed a complaint against Starcher for making up lies against him to justify his arrest. Charges of obstruction against Weaver were dropped two months later.

In 2002, Starcher was investigated for perjury because of apparent lies me made about a drug suspect.

After the most recent incident, the Hur Herald is asking law enforcement to file charges against Starcher.

“The last time I checked if someone wrestles personal property from your hands and takes it, it is a crime,” Weaver said.

Comments

Anonymous

2 years ago

Wow…I just had to get off my duff and respond to this, as I live in WV.

I’ve always sat and read your site, glad that nothing on here came from where I live.

This shouldn’t come as a suprise since a friend of mine is the subject of an interesting incident with a Nitro, WV LEO.

A firearm which was visible from outside my friend’s vehicle was confiscated without an arrest or citation, or receipt. Because it was somehow concealed whilst still being visible.
And the kicker? The vehicle was parked and nobody was inside it, my friend was outside of it with some other friends…filming video for a no-budget movie.

So now my friend is facing a court date over all this, with lord knows what consequences.

I’d be happy to put them in touch with you if it sounds interesting to you Carlos.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Cops have X-ray vision!!!

Tribute to Johnny Hart.

Anonymous

2 years ago

You’ve got a time paradox there, the camera was taken away from the man 3 days before he took the picture…according to your writeup.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Just the opposite of the previous story. Seems like Gurnee, IL is still in the United States while West Virginia is not.

Anonymous

2 years ago

I live here. I know these people first hand. These State Police officers are the biggest criminals around. AND they are pretty worthless too, our crime rate has skyrocketed…

This county only has about 7300 people in it, and the Trooper Doug Starcher (Douggie, I’ve known him since he was a kid) is on a first name basis with the editor of the hurherald, fully knows he is not a “terrorist”, and simply does not like him because editor Weaver prints the FACTS. Because of the local “good old boy” politics, coupled with a lot of corruption, these facts are sometimes “inconvenient” for the police…

In fact there are so many people disenchanted with the way things are run here, there are several Political BLOGS running in this county as well, by various different authors. Some more rabid than others to be sure, but none the less, this must be one of the most blogged about counties in WV…

Now, with a little help from certain State Police, there is an attempt to link the editor of the Hur Herald with the most radical of these blogs in an attempt to discredit the only good media source for this county.

My blog has a collection of “State Trooper Stories” from this county and the next. The BAD APPLE AWARDS mostly deals with Trooper Starcher. He’s been around a long time, and done enough bad things that anyone else working a REAL job would have been fired 20 times over.

Now you know the REST of the story.

Anonymous

2 years ago

I see Weaver and Starcher have locked horns once again. Good for you, Bob, on standing your ground, again. And good for you Carlos for doing what the rest of the media in this state has failed to do – publish this story.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Wow, didn’t realize so many others from WV read this site.

Anyway, just as I was patting myself on the back for not finding any WV related stories on here, Starcher has to go and fuck it all up.

As with all states, at least he doesn’t represent the majority. Other than a few “rogue” troopers and an entire department from one unnamed city *cough*South Charleston*cough* most LEOs I’ve encountered here have been pretty decent.