And from today’s Coeur d’Alene Press story headlined No recording of Arfee shooting, we learn that the Coeur d’Alene police officer who shot and killed Arfee the dog inside a lawfully parked van on July 9 had not activated his body-worn camera when he handled a suspicious vehicle call in downtown Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The skewspaper article said, “Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Christie Wood confirmed that the camera worn by the officer was not recording at the time. […] ‘I really can’t (comment) because that would go right to the heart of the personnel matter,’ Wood said.”

So contrary to the earlier and repeated assurances from Mayor Steve Widmyer and acting Police Chief Ron Clark that the results of the investigation would be released only after review by the City and by an impartial third party, we now have the police department’s public information officer giving out information from inside the investigation. (more…)

Again today the Coeur d’Alene Press skewspaper has run letters to its editor from citizens who believe the Coeur d’Alene police officer who shot Arfee the dog on July 9 should be disarmed.

OpenCdA has put up several posts about the incident.

As we’ve said before, we believe it is imperative that the officer not be prematurely judged.   That is more than just trying to be fair to the officer.   Shooting and killing Arfee the dog has certainly pointed out some very serious issues that the Police Department should be studying and addressing. (more…)

More and more it appears to OpenCdA that  the Coeur d’Alene Press newspaper is intentionally withholding important information about the shooting of Arfee the dog by a Coeur d’Alene police officer.

A line from The Spokesman-Review article dated July 25, 2014, and headlined Coeur d’Alene officers must view videos on encountering dogs reads, “Wood said the officer’s body camera was not in use during the confrontation with the dog.”  Wood is Sergeant Christie Wood, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s public information officer.

The Spokesman-Review’s article was picked up by the Associated Press and reported in the online Idaho Statesman, a Boise newspaper, in this article dated July 25, 2014, and headlined N. Idaho police to get training on dog encounters.   The Statesman’s article reads, “Sgt. Christie Wood, police spokeswoman, said the officer’s body camera wasn’t on at the time.”

Going back through the Coeur d’Alene Press online stories about the dog’s shooting, OpenCdA has been unable to find any Press reporting of that very newsworthy piece of information.

Why did The Spokesman-Review and the Idaho Statesman report the information but our own local newspaper,  the Coeur d’Alene Press, did not?  It was an important and very newsworthy revelation by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s public information officer, and it should have been reported in the local newspaper story.  Why wasn’t this reported?  What else is the Press willing to hide from its readers?

We also question why the Police Department released this piece of information now.  It is clearly a product of the internal investigation, and the City has assured its citizens that the results of the investigation will be made public after it has been reviewed by City managers and a third party.   Who authorized the release of the information attributed to Sergeant Wood?