Yolo County: Request made for full disclosure of details of shooting incident

A watchdog group has requested that the District Attorney release to the public the full report on their investigation in the case of the shooting of Luis Gutierrez. The group specifically wants to know if a sheriff deputy put a gun to a nine-year-old girl’s head during the incident. -db Yolo Judicial Watch Commentary April [...]

Editorial: Public has right to access police disciplinary hearings

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial argues that as a matter of great public concern, police misconduct hearings should be open. Maintaining secrecy erodes public trust of the police. -DB San Francisco Chronicle Editorial January 11, 2010 Our system of government is based on the idea that an open government is a smarter, safer and more [...]

San Jose: Case of tragic shooting of mentally ill man shows need for prompt disclosure of police records

A San Jose Mercury News editorial argues that if the police want to build trust between themselves and the community, with reasonable exceptions they need to provide timely public access to records. Disclosure lagged in the case of the police shooting of a mentally ill man with the result that after six months, controversy continues. The editorial [...]

Distrust of news media takes sharp partisan shape

A Pew Survey shows that more people than ever distrust the news media while Republicans are more disenchanted than Democrats.-DB The New York Times September 14, 2009 By Richard Pérez-Peňa Trust in news media has reached a new low, with record numbers of Americans saying reporting is inaccurate, biased and shaped by special interests, according [...]