NABJ Shakeup After New Deficit Estimate

Police Cite Privacy in Withholding Dylann Roof Documents

"Charleston police released heavily redacted crime-scene and investigative documents on Thursday in the case against Dylann Roof, citing the department's ongoing investigation and a need to protect the privacy of the victims' families and survivors," Jennifer Berry Hawes and Doug Pardue reported Thursday for the Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C.

"The redactions and restricted information sparked a renewed clash between law enforcement and The Post and Courier and other news outlets over the public's right to know what occurred before and after Roof allegedly tried to start a race war with a mass shooting in the heart of historic Charleston.

"Roof, an avowed white supremacist, is charged with murdering nine black worshipers during a June 17 Bible study at Emanuel AME Church.

"Documents made public did not include a transcript of 911 calls or police recordings from body cameras and dashboard cameras, which are not covered by a gag order in the case.

"The public has a legitimate interest in 'aspects of this case.' But releasing other information would 'constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy' to the victims' families and the shooting survivors, Will Bryant, a lawyer for the city and police department, wrote in a cover letter with the released documents. . . ."

Chicago Tribune Reports Wrongful Convictions in Waukegan

In Illinois, "The Waukegan Police Department has been led by officers who played central roles in some of the costliest investigative failures in Lake County history [accessible via search engine], and police with troubled records have flourished in the department," Dan Hinkel wrote Friday in an investigative report for the Chicago Tribune.

"Scandal and instability have plagued the agency, and the city is now run largely by former officers who have given little public indication that they detect a problem.

"Records show minorities have suffered most in the former industrial hub of 90,000 where a vast majority of residents are African-American or Hispanic but most police are white, including, as of this summer, all of the top command staff. Most people who received payouts from the department after alleging wrongdoing are black or Hispanic, records show. . . ."

Assaulted S.C. Schoolgirl Isn't an Orphan, Lawyer Says

"The Spring Valley High teenager who was violently taken down by a sheriff's deputy in a class in Columbia, S.C., Monday is under foster care, but according to most recent reports is not an orphan,"Jarvis DeBerry wrote Thursday for NOLA.com | the Times-Picayune.

"On Wednesday, the New York Daily News published a column by Shaun King. The headline described the teenager as an orphan, and King's column attributed the information about her family situation to South Carolina attorney Todd Rutherford. . . ."

De Berry also wrote, "In an interview with radio host Joe Madison[audio], Rutherford said that reports that the girl had lost both her mother and her grandmother are false and that he'd spoken to them both since the girl's arrest. When asked if the girl was in foster care, he deflected and repeated that he'd spoken with the girl's mother and grandmother. . . ."

• Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR "Code Switch": Violence Against Students In Class? Teachers Say It Doesn't Add Up
  
  
• Charles F. Coleman Jr., The Root: Are Cops in Classrooms a Danger to Our Kids?
  
  
• Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root: Lawyer for Teen in SC School Assault Video Speaks on Injuries She Suffered, Whether She Is an Orphan and Fake GoFundMe Pages
  
  
• Soo Rin Kim, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: New D.C. bodycam policies too restrictive, critics testify
  
  
• Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times: Another viral video, another fired police officer
  
  
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Violent school arrest shows weakness of South Carolina authorities
  
  
• Lonnae O'Neal, Washington Post: Unclear on excessive force? Just imagine it’s a white girl.