Val Deming is a wrathful woman.  Hurt her feelings and you can bet that she’s going to do something about it.  Do it online and she’s going to come after you. You see, Val Deming will not be the typical female victim of cyber attacks, allowing it to push her into a hole, deprive her of her cyber civil rights and take it like some helpless female.  That she has yet to receive a Victim of the Week Award from the Feminist Law Profs mystifies me.

But the, Val Deming has some issues that are peculiar to her situation.  You see, Deming is the Chief of Police in Orlando, County of Disney, State of Florida.  And according to Randazza, who keeps a close watch on things in that most ambivalent of states, she’s a pretty darn good Chief of Police, save for the stolen gun incident (which could happen to anybody).

Even so, not everyone in Orlando is a fan.  From the Orlando Sentinel :

Valdemings.com is run by Ezell “Easy” Harris, a frequent critic of Demings’, and contains a disclaimer stating the chief has no association with the site.

What kind of cool stuff does Harris, who owns a travel agency, put on his website?

Harris said he won’t take the site down because he’s simply exercising his First Amendment rights. “If someone didn’t tip the Orlando Sentinel about this gun, we probably wouldn’t even know it happened,” Harris said. “I thought it was wrong that the public didn’t know.”

The Web site also contains an article on a stolen Orlando police car that was found in Parramore and a piece on Demings’ husband, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, and his policy against media leaks.

The site further criticizes the Police Department’s handling of a 2007 case in which an officer was accused of pushing a woman down stairs at the now-defunct Club Paris downtown. The officer, Fernando Trinidad, was cleared criminally, but an internal investigation concluded he violated departmental standards of conduct.

Frankly, rather pedestrian misconduct if you ask me.  Given the wealth of really bad things that cops can do, coupled with size and breath of matters that come before a department like Orlando’s, Demings sounds like she has things fairly well under control.  So while she may prefer that Harris’ website not exist, it ought to be the sort of thing she can easily shrug off with a smile.  But no, apparently she can’t.

Harris’ gripes evoked the Wrath of Val Deming. 

Demings’ attorney, Griffith J. Winthrop III, accuses Harris in an April 17 letter of “maligning” and defaming the chief. The letter also says Harris violated the law by using her “persona” and identity and claims Harris’ behavior is “malicious.”

Demings is demanding that the Web site be taken down and threatens to sue Harris if he refuses.

This is where hurt feelings could turn this misbegotten choice on its head and force Deming to find out the hard way that there’s a price for feigned victimhood, even when it happens that you’re female. 

Harris refused to take down the site – correctly claiming that he is “simply exercising his First Amendment rights.” However, Winthrop (Demings attorney) says that Harris is portraying Demings in a “false light.”

Winthrop would not elaborate on Demings’ claims or the logic behind them. He said he prefers to argue the matter in court. (source<)

Poor Mr. Winthrop. When you represent a public figure and threaten a citizen for criticizing that public figure, you have to go to two courts — one being the court of public opinion. Winthrop and Demings need to simply back out of this hole slowly, apologetically, and contritely. If Winthrop does get a chance to argue this matter in court, it isn’t going to end well for his client — nor will his reputation likely ever be the same. Of course, I don’t predict that they will take that advice.

I get a funny feeling that Mr. Winthrop and Ms. Demings are about to learn some valuable lessons about defamation law and litigation public relations. In fact, I’ll provide some here, free of charge.

As Randazza points out in excruciatingly painful detail, the fact that she’s a public official doesn’t help either.  For a primer on defamation law and a great discussion (including photos!) of the Streisand Effect, read Randazza’s post.  One of the funniest lines within the explanation of the law of defamation comes Demings lawyer:

“Truth is not always a defense,” Winthrop said. “I hope he [Harris] gets himself a really good lawyer,” he said. (source)

You can’t make this stuff up, but it provides the perfect jumping off point to note why such indulgent demands, in the grander scheme of things, tend to backfire and take a matter of little consequence and even less interest and turn it into a sensation:  When you accept the responsibility that comes with a position of substantial authority and power, you accept having your actions subject to public scrutiny.  Val Deming is a public official, and her actions should be publicly known and openly challenged, even if she’s a darn good police chief.  That’s how being a public official works, regardless of gender.

And if that hurts your feelings. tough nuggies.