Jackson Free Press

On April 27, several officers from the Jackson Police Department participated in an online "terrorism course." Presumably, the course taught officers how to prevent terrorism, but these days it's hard to tell. Or didn't we just have our own Abu Ghraib? On the same day?

I refer to video showing JPD officers striking 18-year-old Michael Black while his hands were cuffed behind his back, broadcast April 27 on WLBT. See http://www.jacksonfreepress.com for a discussion of this incident, complete with a member of City Council and a whole heck of a lot of talk about "thugs." (Hint: We're losing.)

WLBT squandered their journalistic good karma by broadcasting the name of a 16-year-old suspect involved in the case. This is a shameful breach of journalism ethics. Juveniles must always get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their privacy, and this youngster has not even been convicted.

Otherwise, as we await more infor-mation from the city, I warn you that it might be a long wait. In fact, it's possible that we may never learn which JPD officer or officers struck Michael Black on April 27. Internal Affairs and the Melton administration regard disciplinary actions against police as "personnel" matters, beyond the public purview. Even if the officers are identified and punished, the Jackson Police Department and the Melton administration will keep that information to themselves.

By the way, just kidding about Abu Ghraib.

Previous Comments

ID

172194

Comment

See our lengthy thread on this issue on our new CrimeBlog. Also, note that WLBT is reporting that police may have had the wrong man.

Author

ladd

Date

2006-05-04T16:38:50-06:00

ID

172195

Comment

...and the fact that this sort of thing happens is one of the reasons why WLBT should never release the names of juvenile suspects. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-05-04T16:47:40-06:00

ID

172196

Comment

Eggggg-zzzzactly. This is one of the most tragic examples of why you don't do this crap I've ever seen. We used it as a case study in the reporting about children class at Columbia that I assist-taught. Of course, the fact that the little kids turned out to be innocent didn't get nearly the play that it did when they were plastered all over newspapers and TV, with their faces and names attached. There's a great documentary about this case, and every journalist, editor and media owner in the world should watch it.

Author

ladd

Date

2006-05-04T16:50:48-06:00

ID

172197

Comment

Read this, too; contains more links to Harris tragedy, and others.

Author

ladd

Date

2006-05-04T16:52:15-06:00