tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post2129798223609837639..comments2024-03-12T21:13:06.850-05:00Comments on Legal Schnauzer: The George Floyd case proves cops can be unreliable sources, so journalists are rethinking the "police say" stories they've been cranking out for decades legalschnauzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-48793685630545864882021-05-24T12:06:11.094-05:002021-05-24T12:06:11.094-05:00As for the dead bodies, one involved a domestic di...As for the dead bodies, one involved a domestic disturbance that turned into a murder-suicide. I remember a local TV guy asked to borrow my pen on that one. Yep, a TV guywent to cover a story with no pen. Not sure he had a notebook, either. Another one was even more sad. An elderly black couple lived out in the country, and their house (a shack, really) caught on fire, and they died. Large containers of coins were found in the residence; the couple apparently did not trust banks. The cops could not determine how much money was in the house, but they said it appeared to be a lot, all in coins.That was near Rocheport, MO.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-44154266775549183792021-05-24T11:57:54.679-05:002021-05-24T11:57:54.679-05:00I became a sportswriter in Birmingham and did some...I became a sportswriter in Birmingham and did some of that in college. But I think everyone at the J-School, at least those in news-editorial sequence,had to spend time on basic news beats -- cops, city councils, school boards, obits, etc. The J-school newspaper, the Columbia Missourian, was not just a college pape4. It covered the city, region, and state. And student reporters worked under professional editors, who were on the faculty.It was quite an experience. I'm sure there is a lot of coursework now on digital media. legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-4222121964461904462021-05-24T11:50:23.266-05:002021-05-24T11:50:23.266-05:00LS -- In college, you covered stories that involve...LS -- In college, you covered stories that involved dead bodies? I thought you were a sportswriter.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-12149872516469823582021-05-24T11:45:22.615-05:002021-05-24T11:45:22.615-05:00@9:38 --
I suspect the deceit in the PD went bey...@9:38 -- <br /><br />I suspect the deceit in the PD went beyond the media-relations office. It appears to be more systemic in nature. From an earlier LS post on the subject:<br /><br />Elder, the police spokesman who sent out the alert, told the Los Angeles Times last year that he based the initial release on information from sergeants who work in the area and computer-aided dispatch, which did not mention the use of force. He hadn't reviewed the body-camera footage yet.<br /> <br />"This had literally zero intent to deceive or be dishonest or disingenuous. Had we known that this (situation) was what we saw on the video, that statement would have been completely different," Elder told the LA Times.<br /> <br />In response, the Minneapolis City Council voted last summer to move the Public Information Office out from the police department and under the city's control, according to CNN affiliate WCCO.<br />legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-16775328196927375102021-05-24T09:44:36.833-05:002021-05-24T09:44:36.833-05:00BTW, tomorow is the first anniversary of George Fl...BTW, tomorow is the first anniversary of George Floyd's death. From WaPo:<br /><br />MINNEAPOLIS — Members of George Floyd’s family took to the streets of this city Sunday to mark the first anniversary of his death, marching with hundreds of people, including activists and others who have lost loved ones to the hands of police, in the first of multiple events planned across the country to remember him and rally for racial justice.<br /><br />Several of Floyd’s siblings and his children returned to the steps of the Hennepin County Government Center, where just weeks ago a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death and where three other former officers charged in his killing are set to go on trial next year.<br /><br />While many praised Chauvin’s conviction, calling it a first step toward “justice,” the family spoke of their enduring loss and continued questions about why Floyd died.<br /><br />“I still don’t know why,” said Bridgett Floyd, his younger sister, who now runs a memorial foundation in her brother’s name. Taking the stage at a rally before the march, she spoke of the family’s pain and how their lives had changed in the “blink of an eye.”<br /><br />“It’s been a long year. It’s been a painful year,” Bridgett Floyd said. “That officer doesn’t understand what he took from us.”<br /><br />Floyd was remembered a year after his death sent millions across the country into the streets in some of the largest sustained protests in American history. Minneapolis, the city at the center of that movement, continues to struggle with its own reckoning over policing and racial justice.<br /> legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-20733486005769202172021-05-24T09:40:30.802-05:002021-05-24T09:40:30.802-05:00Yes, it's funny how a knee on the neck for nin...Yes, it's funny how a knee on the neck for nine minutes can cause medical distress. No mention of that from the official PD mouthpiece.legalschnauzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619089628125964154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669412675139526125.post-17997909419161892812021-05-24T09:38:30.651-05:002021-05-24T09:38:30.651-05:00Pretty embarrassing that the press release from Mi...Pretty embarrassing that the press release from Minneapolis PD never mentioned that Mr. Floyd might have been in medical distress because Derek Chauvin's knee was on his neck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com