Small town newspapers and police departments

[airdvr 210]

Last week in Canton there was a big fuss over a high speed chase that resulted in the death of a suspect in a kidnapping. What I find particularly troubling is this part of the story...

Quote

http://www.cantonrep.com/stark/perry/x601084125/Alleged-kidnapping-victim-charged-with-lying-to-police

According to a police report, officers entered the home and found Toles and Pearson asleep on the couch. Near them were two loaded semi-automatic guns, and officers confiscated the weapons. Toles and Pearson were awakened and left.

Do you think some pertinent details were omitted?

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[skyrider 0]

Particularly in small towns , the editor tends to kiss ass to the PD, usually they "Need" a close working relationship, and the only way to mantain that...is "omit" a few details....

Nature of the beast!

[masterrig 1]

I think it's the same for big city newspapers as well as small towns. I believe, they do it to get the right 'slant' to the story and sell newspapers.


Chuck

[Kennedy 0]

The article is poorly written and clusterfucked in terms of order for telling the story, but I think it's all there. The "victim" is just another suspect who lied to the responding officers. While the uniforms were on scene, there was no crime to arrest Toles and Pearson (I've never seen a cop so bored they are unwanted guests for trespassing if they're willing to leave). After the two left, the "victim" change his story from unwanted guests to forcible kidnappers. Officers now had a violent felony to investigate and they chased the suspects.

The part I don't get is the confiscated guns. Could be one of the two was a felon but denied ownership. If you can't prove possession, you have to cut them loose.

All this looks like another disagreement over drugs, and there are no victims, just varying levels of suspects.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[airdvr 210]

Possibly. Not sure how police are called to residence, guns are found near sleeping folks, and then they are allowed to leave only to be stopped again minutes later.

SOmething isn't right. The cynic in me says they beat down the cop and fled in the car.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Kennedy 0]

I'm sure there are facts we're not getting, but I doubt that's it. They have the suspect in custody. If they laid a hand on him on the way out, I'm sure the girl would be holding an assault on law enforcement charge. I wonder if it's worse than embarassment. I wonder if/worry that it might be incompetance/negligence they are trying to hide, or of someone broke internal policy but no laws, so they can maybe spin things into a happy story.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[Niki1 2]

Does anyone remember good journalism? Where the lead paragraph answers the 5 questions of Who, What, Where, When, and How. Now it seems they strech out the story to get you to read to the end, as if there were an advertisement that you were supposed to get to. Good newspaper writting died about 25 years ago when newspapers started trying to compete with TV. This was about the same time the level of literacy began to decline in the country. I don't know which is cause and which is effect but it had the affect of dumbing down of America.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[pirana 0]

Quote

Does anyone remember good journalism? Where the lead paragraph answers the 5 questions of Who, What, Where, When, and How. Now it seems they strech out the story to get you to read to the end, as if there were an advertisement that you were supposed to get to.

They write as if they were writing a fictional short story. I think TV actually started doing it first; and it really comes off corny when they try to turn a :30 clip into a dramatic cliffhanger. In Minneapolis they have a guy that has a perfect voice for the attempt. His opening and closing comments are so fucking syrupy and sappy and corny it is unbelievable. They should have left him where he was, and doing what he did best - the annual spring all-traffic-stopped-while-the-goslings-cross-the-highway story.

Thank goodness for BBC on the Direct TV dish.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley