As PIOs create press releases about incidents where suspects may be "seized", understanding the latest ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court definition of "seizure" is important in clearly articulating actions taken, or not taken, in the arrest of or evading by a person. When a PIO is writing about an incident where a suspect was arrested, or evaded, the description of the "seizure" in the official arrest/offense report should clearly match any press release about the incident released by the PIO. If these published descriptions do not match this could be used by a defense attorney to create doubt about the actual arrest and charge. (CLICK H-E-R-E FOR MORE DETAILS)
GOOD INFO IN THIS ARTICLE REGARDING POST-PURSUIT MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
Totally disagree with a focus being on working with reporters to get your story to the public. Better focus is on building and managing your own in-house agency media platforms including website, Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels. When an agency delivers news through their own channels their message is unfiltered (and unchanged) by news reporters who make mistakes and/or intentionally alter information to negatively reflect on an agency. (CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY FROM POLICEONE)
Updated: Dec 9, 2020
This sure would be an awkward press release to write. There is just not a good way to deliver bad news about your agency. By doing it truthfully and rapidly you build a trusted brand for your agency.
