Before Secret Video Was Revealed, This Was The Official Police Statement on Walter Scott Murder:

[lostnfound]

65. Professional skills of reporters and integrity of police PR departments.. Also should be scrutinized

Because of the video, we know that the cop is guilty of murder. Lots of attention will hopefully be given to the cop's actions, as it should be.
But While we are at it, let's also pay attention to the sloppy reporting and unspoken biases that arise in reporting on police shootings; and to the outright lies propagated not only by the cop himself but by the police department spokesmen everywhere.
The article says that "Police and witnesses say Scott tried to run from Slager before turning to fight for the officer's Taser." What witnesses? Why does the article present that as a fact, without actual witnesses to whom the reporter has personally spoken? The article says, "the shooting unfolded.." Why does language get so weirdly passive when the cop is the shooter, while active language would be used for shootings by anyone else? Police department spokespeople routinely describe events based solely on the officer's version of events, and thereby allow the shooter to provide "corroboration" for his own story.

The "spokesman" and the reporters (who by necessity depend on those same spokespeople for information on routine crime stories) create a perception of fact or objectivity, when in reality, the story should have stated "officer so-and-so claims.." Or "officer so-and-so says..." Police departments who release such routine statements ought to have a degree of professionalism and integrity in their work..but they don't. They need to be held accountable for the lack of self-policing and lack of critical oversight of their own cops.

In the book "Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky and Edward Hermann, the authors describe how hidden biases embedded in news media structures make defending the status quo and "worthy institutions&quot relatively easy (requiring little or no burden of proof) while story lines that run counter to the status quo or challenge "worthy institutions" require very high burdens of proof.