Police: New Four Hour “No Comment” Policy After Officer Involved Shootings

The new policy is intended to avoid inaccurate statements, some community leaders believe four hours is too long

By JAMES MACPHERSON
Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010 | 9:02 AM

Pasadena Police announced Friday that they will no longer make in-depth public comments in the wake of officer involved shootings until four hours have passed after the incident.

Officials said that the new media procedure will allow for immediate confirmation that an officer involved shooting has occurred and the announcement of “the level of injuries,” but nothing else.

The new procedure was included in the Department’s written response to the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review (OIR) investigation into last year’s shooting death of Leroy Barnes, Jr. by Pasadena officers.

The purpose of the four hour blackout, the report said, is to “allow police officials to properly analyze and vet the incoming information” and was implemented because in the hours after the Barnes’ shooting “a rush to provide information” resulted in false statements being made to the media.

“In terms of if ‘we fired first’ or ‘they fired first’ or why we fired, I think four hours is cutting it short. It’s the soonest time I want to talk about facts,” Pasadena Interim Chief of Police Chris Vicino said in a telephone interview Friday night. “We owe the community accuracy and we also owe the community transparency. If I have to pick between the two, I’m going to pick accuracy.”

Joe Brown, Pasadena branch president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, told Pasadena Now he believes the community “will have to go back and urge our police department to revisit this.”

Four hours “quite a lengthy time to have to wait to determine accuracies,”is Brown said. “I believe two hours would be more appropriate.”

The new media policy is contained in the Pasadena Police Department’s written response to the OIR report, and is available in full by clicking here.

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