Colorado Springs Station in Pissing Match with Police
/
It seems that the Colorado Springs Police Department is in a bit of a pissing match with KRDO. And it's all over some video the station ran on the newscast.
It seems that the police were serving a warrant that was wrongfully issued out of Florida. The cops mistakenly arrested 56-year-old Catherene Wilson, but that isn't what has the police and the TV station squabbling about.
The Colorado Springs Independent writes that ruffled the Cops feathers was KRDO-TV's reporting of the event: mainly, those of the Colorado Springs Police Department. It all stems from a few seconds of generic footage the ABC affiliate used showing fully armored SWAT team members approaching a residence with assault rifles drawn.
Here's what the department wrote Friday on its Facebook page: "While your coverage made it appear that our entire SWAT Team went to the arrestee’s home, the truth is, 3 members went," wrote the department. "Just so you know, it is standard for any Fugitive Apprehension detail, that 2 members execute a warrant for Officer Safety reasons. In this case, a 3rd member who is new, accompanied them for training purposes. There is clearly a distinction between SWAT officers handling routine calls and a SWAT mission. This was obviously not a SWAT mission."
And though KRDO noted in its report that Wilson held no ill will towards CSPD, and that officers called later to check on her well-being, police were not mollified: "While the reporter clearly mentioned {at the end of the story} how Ms. Wilson praised the actions of our [Tactical Enforcement Unit] officers — the damage was already done with the portrayal of an armed SWAT Team with guns drawn preparing to arrest a sweet older woman.
"In fairness to the Colorado Springs Police Department, an accurate portrayal was not done and an on-air correction would be greatly appreciated."
KRDO anchor James Jarman says he understands the department's concerns about how SWAT was depicted, but wished it had been communicated differently.
"Her posting that e-mail on Facebook, I’ve never seen anything like that," he says in a phone interview. "And I didn’t know about it until — I mean, I was sitting on the desk, anchoring the 4 p.m. [newscast], and I looked on our iPad and I saw somebody had posted something on Facebook about ‘Are you gonna apologize to CSPD?’ So I went to their page, and that was the first hint I got of anything that was even a concern."
And though the two sides are set to meet soon to discuss the report, Jarman says his feeling of unfair treatment from the PIO's office has been around for a while.
"My main issue, and I feel like I’m kind of standing up for all the reporters here, is there’s not a week goes by they don’t come in complaining about having trouble getting information from the public-information office to give to the public," he says. "It’s clear to me, from talking to friends who are officers ... the public-information office is not run by CSPD anymore."
