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I have often said that Sergeant Christie Wood, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s putative Public Information Officer, is fully capable of writing at the fifth or sixth grade level. Her press release about last night’s shooting on Sherman Avenue supports my assessment.
For the sake of everyone who must read her writings, Chief Longo, buy her a manual of style and usage.
LOL, that is really bad. Thanks for the laughs Christie!
Comment by Pariah — December 27, 2009 @ 11:01 am
For a real hoot note the SR reporter looks for facts on this story by posting on a blog!
Clearly between the semi-literate police flack and the lack of reporters on the ground, news as a business model in the Lake City has failed.
Comment by Pariah — December 27, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
I’m willing to cut Christie a little slack on this one. She was undoubtedly called to the scene at one or two in the morning and wrote her news release before she went back home to bed. At least she responded to the event and got the best information she was allowed to release out as early as possible. I don’t write or think too well at three or four in the morning.
Comment by CdACanuck — December 27, 2009 @ 1:32 pm
CdACanuck,
I’m not willing to cut her any slack. Being the PIO is her job. Gathering information accurately, clearly, and as completely as possible at any time is her job. Organizing, composing, and disseminating that information appropriate for release to the news media in a timely way is her job. She is paid well to do it. It is her job!
As the PIO, she represents the department. The quality of her releases must reflect the quality of the department. If a detective prepared a report as poorly as her press release, his supervisor would never approve the report. At least, I hope he wouldn’t. So why does Wood’s supervisor allow really poor quality press releases to be sent out? Poorly written press releases do not reflect well on the department. Conversely, well-written press releases make it possible for reporters and others to have a clear picture of what happened. Well-written press releases save reporters and others time and allow the reporters to focus more clearly and quickly on the story.
Here is one example of vague writing.
Charges are pending against whom? The suspect? Probably. The witnesses who she implies may have injured his head? Maybe. We don’t know, because she’s not explicit.
Comment by Bill — December 27, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
This is a partially formed field in Word:
TIME \@'MMMM d, yyyy" December 27,2009As the author of many books on the Word program, I would recommend to Ms. Wood that she refrain from using fields in her reports. It’s better to type the date in manually, which makes the date part of the document, and avoids the problem with fields spilling over. If I were called as an expert witness (and I have been), I would comment to the court that a field is not the same as manually typing in a date; fields can be messed with and are subject to the whim of whoever is controlling the computer’s date and time.
Comment by Dan — December 27, 2009 @ 3:03 pm
Bill,
I went to the CPD site to find that press release, but no luck. How did you get it?
What is the reason for Wood to refrain from releasing the names of the involved individuals who are over the age of 18, and then give us details that they were from Moses Lake, WA and visiting for the holidays?
Comment by Stebbijo — December 27, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
Bad press release plus lazy reporters who think trolling the net is reporting and you get a biased, poorly written piece on the SR. How very sad.
Comment by Pariah — December 27, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
Stebbijo,
I received the raw press release from a friend.
It appears Wood sent the email press release out about 5:42 a.m. Sunday. It is likely the police were withholding all identifications to make sure they fully understood the scope of the crime and had identified all persons who were involved. If there were others involved, even peripherally, the police would want to get to them before releasing too much information.
There was more information on KXLY TV’s news at 6 p.m.
Comment by Bill — December 27, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
This is the possessive form of victim, meaning something that belongs to the victim.
This is the plural form of the word victim.
This is the plural possessive form of victim, meaning something that belongs to more than one victim.
Comment by Dan — December 27, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
Read sentence two. What schools did Wood go to?
Comment by Pariah — December 27, 2009 @ 7:47 pm
Any chance of getting the arrest report online?
Comment by Pariah — December 27, 2009 @ 9:24 pm
How much does Wood get paid for this job of hers?
Comment by Pariah — December 27, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
$71,000/year.
Comment by Dan — December 27, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
Bill makes an excellent point. And sadly, it is the norm in todays world. Too many individuals cannot construct a correct sentence. They cannot spell or punctuate. And don’t get me started on vocabulary. “Man, dude, and the truly annoying you know, seem to be the main content of any thought. It doesn’t matter what time of day it was, Ms. Wood should be able to construct a coherent thought. She also sits on the NIC board I believe. $71,000/year? What a deal!!
Comment by rochereau — December 28, 2009 @ 10:28 am
I think you’re all being a little tough on Sgt. Wood.
Especially since transparency in government is important to people who comment here, I’d think her attempt to get the information out in a timely manner, in this case the middle of the night following a serious incident, might afford her some slack.
Meanwhile, Ms. Wood’s compensation is based on the fact that she has attained the rank of sergeant in one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state. A such, it shouldn’t be a factor in this discussion.
Comment by JohnA — December 28, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
I sometimes wonder about the selective way the CPD decides to release their information – if at all. I also wonder since this particular press release was not formally released through their website or Wood (she sometimes gives other news sources a first heads up),however,it is still public information. I feel that she may have just halfaSSed it, without a thought that it would be published. I also feel that her press releases need to be ‘publically’ released through the CPD website upon their completion and something as high profile as this particular incident deserved more attention during it’s draft. Wood’s compensation is relative to the job she does on behalf of the city residents. We deserve to see them.
Why don’t we have access to the CPD press releases or/and how do we sign up to receive them? Do we personally have to ask Wood for them?
Comment by Stebbijo — December 28, 2009 @ 12:24 pm
JohnA,
You bet I’m being tough on her. I am not willing to accept substandard performance from any of our law enforcement officials. I am as critical of her supervisor, whoever that may be, because her supervisor allows her to represent the department poorly with her work product. Reread my comment #4 to CdACanuck. It’s her job! That she is overpaid for performing her job poorly is relevant and is a factor in this discussion. While Wood may have been able to make sergeant in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, I doubt she would even have been hired or made it through probation in any progressive departments that have and adhere to standards of performance.
Also a factor in the discussion is why the city administration and the press who receive her releases are willing to accept her substandard work product. More than anyone, the news media who have to try and figure out what she meant ought to be pounding on Longo to get her trained or transferred. Her poor work product does not make their job easier or their product better.
If you want to see what exceptionally good public information officers do, go to the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s Media & Public Information webpage. When I lived and worked in the Los Angeles area, one of the most respected PIOs was and still is Brian Humphrey. If you ever have an opportunity to listen to him phoning in a fire, rescue, or unusual occurrence story to KNX or KFWB, you will see why the news media love his work. He gives them the facts they need, when they need them, because he fully understands what the media need and what their requirements and deadlines are. He doesn’t embellish or speculate. He is both personable and professionally competent.
Comment by Bill — December 28, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
John: It’s not only this report, it’s every report. It’s chronic. I would expect more from a professional in a demanding public position, especially given that this won’t be the last such incident of this magnitude.
Honestly, there’s a lot of mediocrity that gets praised in Coeur d’Alene. I’ve lived in places where they have true professionalism and demonstrate it consistently. If you’ve been in such places as well, then you have to to cringe at what passes for laudable behavior in this town.
Comment by Dan — December 28, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
John, glad to see you posting. Whether I agree with you or not, you are reasonable in your commentary. That being said, Bill is correct. It is her job. I would be willing to bet that if you continually performed your job in a sub standard manner, you would not have an income for long. I know I would not have survived. I cannot address her ability as a law enforcement officer. But she is poor at the job she is currently doing. Perhaps the CDA force is the largest in the state, that doesn’t make it a major agency. I have always questioned the officer training, or lack thereof. The judgement often displayed seems curious. It is not an impressive group. And $71,000. for a Sgt. on a little force, is exhorbitant, especially when that officer is less than competent on a continuing basis.
Society today has been dumbed down to a disturbing degree. And “cutting slack” for someone not doing their job competently, is a part of that situation.
Comment by rochereau — December 28, 2009 @ 3:38 pm
Few things reflect the education of a person more than their written words. It is more than correct grammar or spelling. It is the grasp of the language, the ability to rise emotions or simplify complexities using just the 2 dimensional page. I relish a well written book even if its subject may be dull.
What the Sgt laid down here was an embarrassment. She’d be better off with text-talk.
Comment by Wallypog — December 28, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
I suggest that Wood enroll in the Journalism program at NIC, assuming she has any interest at all in improving her skills.
Comment by Bill — December 28, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
The police report runs to 90+ pages, any chance of getting that posted here?
Comment by Pariah — December 28, 2009 @ 6:32 pm
Pariah,
Wow! We have about 8 MHz per document limit. If you have a copy of the report, I can try to scan it, but the outcome will probably be about 12-15 different posts. The police report is preliminary.
The report that wlll matter more is the investigator’s report that goes to the prosecutor to enable him to make a decision about what, if, and whom to prosecute. That report is likely days to weeks away from going to the Prosecutor, and then it will take him some time to study and make the decisions.
Comment by Bill — December 28, 2009 @ 6:41 pm
Looking at the bright side of things minus the writing skills – Wood does not look like or act on camera, like the starchy Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. It could be worse.
Comment by Stebbijo — December 28, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
Sorry, just catching up after a couple of long days at work.
I can appreciate each comment that deals with proper grammar. As an accountant with a minor in English, I’ve seen cause to critique public documents, particularly audit reports. With that said, I try to put a perspective on any effort someone might feel is not worthy of public consumption. As I’m not being an expert on CDA Police releases, I can only comment on the report at hand. The fact that it was released so early on a Sunday morning, with likely no chance that it could be reviewed by supervisors trained to look for content as well as context, I am willing to give the reporter a measure of slack. Please allow the same focus on any documents you might write, especially if those documents might be expected to see the light of day whilst being written at the speed of the internet.
Comment by JohnA — December 29, 2009 @ 7:36 pm
JohnA,
As Dan correctly pointed out, there is a lot of mediocrity in Coeur d’Alene that gets characterized as “excellence.” Wood’s press releases may someday rise to the level of mediocrity. She should aspire to that. She gets no slack for substandard performance of her assigned duties for which she is paid well from the taxpayers’ pockets. Your standards may allow you to tolerate that; mine do not.
Comment by Bill — December 29, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
I’m curious: Why the rush to get a press release out at 5:00 AM on a Sunday? Are there live TV or radio news shows on Sunday morning? Given that it was so off the news cycle, why wouldn’t a simple two line release have worked? Something like, “The investigation is underway and more information will be made available soon,” would have been fine. Who was it who asked for the 1+ page narrative? Is that standard practice regardless of the time of day?
Comment by Dan — December 29, 2009 @ 9:15 pm
John, I would be willing to bet money (and my money is a terrible thing to waste 🙂 ) that you could write a coherent, gramatically correct document when only half awake. I know that I could. It is not a matter of time of day or degree of alertness. It is a matter of habit. Either one can or cannot produce a correct thought in their native language. There is another angle here. I believe Ms Woods is writing a childrens book. Lord love a duck, I hope she has a literate editor!
Comment by rochereau — December 30, 2009 @ 10:48 am