Quote:
Originally Posted by MBates
Are you equally critical of police giving press conferences blasting out details to the public at large (and the potential jury pool) where only their side of the story is told?
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I am. I firmly believe that barring a justifiable public safety interest, the details of those charged with crimes should not have their names or pictures published until they have had their trial. Not only to try and maintain an unbiased jury pool, but to prevent the damage to lives that occurs if an acquittal or not guilty verdict is returned.
At a minimum, the press should print the results of cases and ASIRT investigations with the same fervor that they publish the accusations.
In this specific case, where is the public benefit to reporting the incident the way it was done? If they were going for transparency, they could simply have reported that an ASIRT investigation was launched after a public complaint was lodged after a detention resulted in injuries. Instead they print multiple paragraphs that showcase half the story and maximum emotional impact. If the investigation clears the police, instead of multiple paragraphs detailing the encounter and how the forced used was proportionate, we'll probably get a few lines saying that they were cleared of wrongdoing.
EDIT: Just saw the added details. So he was out of control enough for his parents to confine him in a locked room and call 911, yet when the police show up, he isn't out of control?