TV News
Investigation
Police: Man Shot Nine People
Station: There's No Evidence
Most of the time --- hopefully --- the police and the prosecution get the right
criminal. Much of the time, reporters can accept the official version of what has
happened. When there is reason to doubt the establishment, it is a sensitive situation.
Here's how a current controversial case is being handled by managers and reporters at one
station.
Many shots fired, an arrest is made
An investigation by WXYZ-TV, Detroit, has contributed to charges being dropped against
a man who apparently was being framed.
It has been a major story. Nine people were shot at Hart Plaza when a man fired into the
crowd during the city's Freedom Festival in late June. The annual fireworks display was
just starting.
"We were all stunned when this happened, and frankly, were really worried about what
was going on," says News Director Andrea Parquet-Taylor.
When police quickly arrested a suspect, it initially sounded as though they had a good
case, including positive identification from victims and witnesses.
The mayor and chief of police held a major news conference and said they were confident
this was the man.
Questions began to surface
The news team followed up, interviewing victims and witnesses to the shooting.
"Five of the nine people who were shot said that it definitely was not him!"
says Parquet-Taylor.
The newspeople wondered if the witnesses were friends of his and were trying to cover up
for him.
She tells us, "We thought that maybe they were traumatized by the incident and
couldn't remember. Then one man told us, 'I looked him right in the eye. I'll never forget
his face. That is not him.'"
Reporter Kim Craig covered the preliminary hearing and she felt that something was just
not right.
"We went back to interview the witnesses
again. Not only did they say it wasn't him, or they couldn't be sure that it was him, they
never told police it was him."
"Meanwhile, police were telling us they had rock-solid eyewitness testimony, and they
had a weapon that placed him at the scene." |
|
Andrea Parquet-Taylor
News Director, WXYZ-TV |
Station investigators dug into it
Parquet-Taylor assigned the investigative unit to the story. They could devote the time
and resources to it.
"That's why we have an investigative unit: to ask questions about things that do not
appear right. Who better to do this story?" she asks.
"There is nothing more important than a person's right to due process and their right
to a fair trial. That's what our country is built on. You are innocent until proven
guilty. You will be judged by a jury of your peers, and it'll be a fair process," she
says.
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