[
Today the Connecticut State Police released the redacted investigative reports about the Newtown (Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Reports) homicide investigations. Here is a link to the documents released today.
To get answers to specific questions, readers are urged to search the reports and draw your own conclusions rather than place any reliance on the news media summaries of those reports.
Seriously? Some of us do not have the time. We trust you. Weigh in.
Comment by Stebbijo — December 28, 2013 @ 9:44 pm
Stebbijo,
I may eventually, but you’ve already made my point for me concerning the skewsmedia. Reports like the CSP’s do not read like a library book. In fact, they’re usually an organized accumulation of individual reports and investigative elements. Consequently, they can’t be completely understood with only one reading. They need to be studied. Often the skewsmedia working on daily deadline accept without much critical questioning the verbal and sometimes written summaries provided by law enforcement and prosecutors rather than take the hours, days, or weeks necessary to thoroughly study the reports themselves. This is proven in all of the news stories that have been printed and aired before the CSP reports, arguably the most complete picture possible, were even released to the skewsmedia.
For example, in late December 2004 a shooting in the Grouse Meadows subdivision of Hayden involved two Kootenai County deputy sheriffs (Justin Bangs and Kevin Smart), one Coeur d’Alene police officer (Michael Kralicek), and one private citizen (Michael Madonna). The Bangs, Smart, and Kralicek were trying to arrest Madonna at his residence. While handcuffed, Madonna went back into his house, retrieved a handgun, and engaged the deputies and officer in a gunfight. Madonna was killed, and Kralicek was seriously wounded. The shooting was investigated by the Idaho State Police. Incomplete information prematurely released to the news media before the ISP report was even delivered to the prosecutor framed the story as being justifiable homicide by the law enforcement officers. Ultimately, Kootenai County Prosecutor Douglas found that the shooting of Madonna by the deputies was, in fact, justifiable. The skewsmedia were happy; they had their neat and tidy story. The Kootenai County Sheriff was happy; the conduct of his deputies, their supervisors, and their training officers would not be scrutinized. The Kootenai County Prosecutor was happy; he wouldn’t have to consider bringing charges of criminal negligence against at least one deputy sheriff. Unfortunately, had the skewsmedia done their job and actually studied the ISP report, they would have unearthed a socially and politically very disturbing fact: the shooting was avoidable. Of course by then, it was old news and the unprofessionally superficial skewsmedia had moved on. I went into some detail about this in my Whitecaps post titled Theft, Gunfire, and Death in Hayden, Idaho, Part II dated February 16, 2005.
Even in the Otto Zehm death in Spokane, the skewsmedia were too quick to accept the version of the story pimped by the Spokane Police Department and the Spokane City Attorney. It was the persistence of Spokane’s Center for Justice, not the diligence of Spokane’s print and broadcast news media, that finally forced the City of Spokane to reveal the facts surrounding Otto Zehm’s death at the hands of Spokane Police Officer Karl Thompson.
Comment by Bill — December 29, 2013 @ 6:51 am
I get this completely, unfortunately, it has always been that way. There are cases from Bonner County that still to this day, I know were never investigated properly. You can almost count on the fact that what you read in this area is never complete and ultimately biased and written to appease and satisfy a passive and forgetful public. People in our justice/government system, education, and medical are basically immune from prosecution, it’s like a license to get away with anything. You can count the rarity of these instances on one hand. Idaho does not have a Center for Justice and probably – that is how they want to keep it.
Comment by Stebbijo — December 29, 2013 @ 11:02 am
CFJ began as a privately-funded organization. It may still be one. The downside of being privately funded is that they depend on private funds. Consequently, at least one story critical of a potential private donor has been pulled by the CFJ staff so not to discourage the private donation. That resulted in the departure of its very fine Communication Director, Tim Connor.
At the end of the year it’s pretty common for the skewsmedia to engage in self-promotion by showcasing their best-of stories for the years. Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times did a column headlined 2013: A great year for scandal, incompetence, and corruption. It highlighted a series of LA Times stories which exposed local government scandal, incompetence, and corruption. I think we can safely say none of our local or regional skewsmedia would be willing to put up a similar column.
Comment by Bill — December 30, 2013 @ 9:13 am