Taylor’s Takes: When bad policework overshadows good
Few things are more embarrassing in a civic manner than seeing your local leaders in the national spotlight making national fools of themselves.
Few things are more embarrassing in a civic manner than seeing your local leaders in the national spotlight making national fools of themselves.
Watching public officials in Providence, Rhode Island, manage the investigation and public relations regarding last weekend’s shooting at Brown University has been akin to a comedy of errors.
It’s a shame, really, when bad police work overshadows good. I do not doubt that there are good and competent men and women on the police force in Providence. But, as is often the case, leadership of such departments can diminish the glow of any such shining stars.
From the first press conference earlier this week, it was obvious that those leading and directing the investigation did not have much of a command of the details. Kudos to longtime WJAR reporter and anchor Dan Jaehnig for fearlessly pressing Brown President Christina Paxson over her lack of knowledge of the goings on in the classroom leading up to the shooting. It stands to reason that would be one of the first answers sought by a person in leadership. “Whose class was it?” “What were they doing in there?” Even slight curiosity would eventually lead the lay bystander to ask such questions.
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez, Jr. has not instilled any levels of confidence in the hard work of his department throughout this entire affair. Chief Perez has had to be prodded to correct statements mid-press conference on several occasions, with his somewhat broken English muddying the waters of what should be a crystal-clear detailing of the facts.
Messaging from Rhode Island’s top cop, AG Peter Neronha, has also been conflicting. While attempting to dress down the press and the cyber sleuths over suspicion that someone connected to the university may be responsible, Neronha reprimanded those who were attempting to connect the dots between the school’s mysterious wiping of that individual from their web footprint and the crime itself.
“I know that in today’s age there are lots of things that people read into things.” Boston College, Neronha’s alma mater, must be proud. “Its just a dangerous thing to do. And I would leave it to us (law enforcement) to identify persons of interest and let us run them down.”
It was a forceful and mood-indicating statement. Neronha, Perez, and the rest were frustrated that the internet detectives at home were noticing things, and might get the credit for cracking the case if their hunch was correct.
In nearly the same breath, Neronha continued, “What the public can do for us today is help us figure out who this guy is.”
Tell me you have no idea what you’re doing without telling me you have no idea what you’re doing.
As I write this, I’m following the live local coverage and monitoring the ever-impending press conference that hopefully ties the Brown and MIT slayings to the police activity in Salem, New Hampshire.
I can only hope that every official meets beforehand to discuss their shared goal of a cohesive press conference with a clear dissemination of facts. A quick comparison of notes can do an awful lot to underscore the hard work that hopefully brought this nearly week-long nightmare to a resolution tonight, and undercut the bumbling buffoonery we witnessed earlier this week.
