The recent decision of the Riverside County DA not to prosecute officers involved in the shooting death of Robert Shirar back in May of last year is not surprising. The CHP had put the officers involved back on duty last June. Also the Indio PD which played a role in the investigation came to no dissenting conclusion.
The family of Shirar is of course looking to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the CHP. Shirar was unarmed at the time of the incident. And what happened next after the incident is what annoys me.
It took 3 weeks for authorities to say Shirar was unarmed. They knew that in less than an hour. You can bet if he had a gun, a news conference would have been held the next day with the local had of the CHP displaying said weapon like a trophy.
Sometimes just like there are rookie reporters and media in a small market such as Palm Springs, there are rookie media or small market types in Law Enforcement public information as well. It is not the first time I have seen something like this done in our desert.
Holding back information like this is not a public service rather it is a sign of immaturity. It leads naturally to suspicious thoughts on the part of many in the public.
I for one believe the CHP really needs to look at their media policies. They blew this one.
I have yet to see any public agency provide neutral, unbiased (favorable or unfavorable, as required) statements with respect to their own activities and actions.
ReplyDeleteWhen they have favorable news to report it's delivered as well as if it were a professional sales pitch for a product.
When something is unfavorable the rule more often on their part is silence, no comment, change the subject,subterfuge and deception.
I wouldn't expect the CHP to act differently.