Some of the most basic tenets of American democracy are the ideas that we all are created equal, no one is above the law and we all must adhere to the social contracts that govern our practices and principles. As an investigative and accountability reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune, I take these doctrines incredibly
Some of the most basic tenets of American democracy are the ideas that we all are created equal, no one is above the law and we all must adhere to the social contracts that govern our practices and principles.
As an investigative and accountability reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune, I take these doctrines incredibly seriously.
But what happens when those responsible for enforcing the rules don’t follow them?
Consider the case of Dessa Kuritz, a San Diego high school student whose car was backed into while she was navigating a parking lot in Linda Vista late last year.
The driver was a Federal Aviation Administration employee driving a U.S. government-owned Jeep Cherokee. No one was hurt, so Dessa headed back to class while the FAA worker awaited a San Diego police response.
The investigating officer concluded that the federal employee, referred to as Party 1 in police reports, was at fault. The Jeep driver would have been cited for a state Vehicle Code violation if the accident happened on public property rather than a private parking lot, the officer said.
“P1’s actions were the primary cause of this collision,” the SDPD officer wrote. “If the Vehicle Code was applicable, the violation for P1 would be 22106 CVC — unsafe backing. P1 collided with P2 as he was backing from his stall.”
But instead of paying Dessa the estimated $4,100 in damage to her 2006 Honda, government officials went on the offensive. They sent her a bill for more than $4,500 — the cost of fixing the Jeep that collided with her.
They also spent months ignoring emails and phone calls from Dessa and her family. To this day, she’s driving around with a gaping dent in her car.
“The accident is one thing,” said Dessa, who participated in the Union-Tribune’s Community Journalism Scholars Program last summer. “But the GSA and FAA response is not an accident. It seems purposely evasive and even malicious. Worse still, it seems like routine policy.”
One of the great privileges of practicing accountability journalism is nudging the government in the right direction when it strays. Sometimes, though not always, a single phone call or email convinces officials to reevaluate a particular course of action and correct it.
The U.S. General Services Administration, the independent agency in charge of managing federal assets and resources, initially demanded more than $4,500 from Dessa to pay for Jeep repairs.
Last month, a spokesperson for the GSA told the Union-Tribune that it was no longer seeking thousands of dollars in damages from Dessa or her father, the registered owner of the damaged Honda.
A spokesperson for the FAA said the claim that Dessa filed with the government to pay for repairs to her car was still being evaluated.
The agency did not respond to questions about why six months had elapsed without any resolution to the case.
“All I can say is the FAA is reviewing the family’s claim,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
The government’s response to the routine fender-bender has left Dessa a bit disillusioned.
“In November, I’ll vote for the first time,” she said. “What am I supposed to think about all of this as a young citizen just getting to know how my government works?”
Dessa said she appreciates the work federal agencies do, and knows they regularly confront issues more pressing than a non-injury car crash. She also recognizes that millions of Americans have far more serious problems than a dented car.
“Even if she is a 2006 Honda Civic with tired paint, she is my car,” Dessa said. “I drive her carefully. And for the past five and a half months she’s been sporting a huge dent in her rear panel and a damaged bumper. All because the government won’t do what it demands that we all do — take responsibility when we hit someone with a car,” she said.
A document she found suggests that may be a matter of policy.
While trying to get the government to take responsibility for the FAA worker’s mistake, Dessa uncovered a “Fleet Vehicle Accident Kit” published by the General Services Administration. It appears to direct federal employees to deny any role in any crash.
“DO NOT sign any paper or make any statement as to who was at fault (except to your supervisor or a Federal Government investigator),” the accident kit says.
The GSA did not respond to questions about its direction to federal workers.