The Sacramento Bee reported:
“The Davis Police Department earned a B minus, a low grade considering that a Davis Enterprise editor tipped the police chief to the audit on the day it [the requests] happened.”
In Friday’s Davis Enterprise, reporter Lauren Keene wrote a front page story on the audit. On the second page, she discussed in some detail the results from the Davis Police Department. In it she indicated, accurately,
“The Davis Police Department was the county’s highest-scoring agency, receiving a B+ from CalAware (which raised the agency’s grade from a B- in light of a scoring error discovered Thursday night).”
Moreover, she also reported that Interim Police Chief Steve Pierce was tipped off by a Davis Enterprise editor; however, Pierce “said it did not affect how his agency responded to the requests.”
This raised a number of questions about the efficacy of the scoring process and whether the Davis Enterprise had inappropriately sabotaged the process.
The Californians Aware website provides some of these answers. There is a detailed account of the audit conducted by Davis Enterprise reporter Corey Golden.
Golden provides us with detailed notes.
“On Dec. 4, just before 9 a.m., I went to the station. The front desk clerk recognized me immediately, though I’m not our regular police reporter. She accepted the requests but said the station was short-staffed. I offered to wait, but she said she would not be able to get to any of them that day. I was given the name of the head of the records department, Karen Berry, and was told she’d contact me. Within about two hours, the interim chief called my editor, Debbie Davis.”
Apparently Debbie Davis was supposed to stick to the script so as to not tip off the Police Chief to the fact that they were conducting an audit.
“Unfortunately, Debbie [Davis] did not stick to the script, explaining what was going on.”
Notice that Golden does not characterize this error as inadvertent or unintentional.
“The chief [Steve Pierce] said he’d fulfill the requests within 10 days. He later called and e-mailed me a couple of times with questions and in one voice mail mentioned that he and others were working on the requests.”
Contrary to the statement from Steve Pierce that “it did not affect how his agency responded to the requests,” Golden openly wonders whether an ordinary citizen in such a situation would encounter such devoted treatment from the interim Chief of Police and his staff.
“Certainly not the sort of situation a normal citizen would encounter, I’m sure. However, I suppose it says something that the interim chief knew exactly what these requests were for, but it still took until 12/13 — nine days — to fulfill them. What that says likely varies widely depending on your point of view.”
Golden does not jump to conclusions; however his questions—which were completely appropriate—are very telling.
More telling is that the Davis Enterprise never mentions Golden’s report nor his concerns about the process.
There are three critical concerns in this incident. First, the question has arisen in the past about the inappropriate collaboration between the Davis Enterprise and the Davis Police Department. Editor and Assistant Publisher Debbie Davis used exceedingly poor judgment in how she chose to handle this situation. Golden suggests that she “did not stick” to the script. The Davis Enterprise chooses to characterize this as inadvertent, but it is clear that Debbie Davis knew in advance the role that she was to play, so it is unclear how she could inadvertently disclose the reasons for the Public Records Act requests.
Second, there is an issue of reporting. Davis Enterprise reporter Lauren Keene does not disclose the misgivings that Golden expresses in his report. Instead she takes Pierce at his word that it had no effect on how his agency responded to the requests.
Finally, even knowing that the express purpose of the public records request was to test his department, Pierce could only score an 86 which was graded a B+. Pierce purportedly disagreed with some of the grading criteria:
“But Pierce took issue with some of the deductions, saying additional time was needed in some cases to properly fulfill the auditor’s requests. Collecting the desired crime and arrest reports was particularly time-consuming, he added.”
However, the bottom line is that this test and its purpose was revealed to Steve Pierce & the Davis Police Department and therefore loses any element of credibility that it might have had. Part of the test was to see how ordinary citizens are treated in response to requests for information. That test was sabotaged the moment Debbie Davis revealed to Steve Pierce that this was part of an audit and would be reported in the newspapers.
While Californians Aware was less concerned about any single department, this should have invalidated this examination of the Davis Police Department responsiveness and thoroughness as a part of the statewide study as soon as it was clear that the cover was blown and most likely intentionally so by Ms. Davis.
—Doug Paul Davis reporting
Perhaps the request should be made again in the future by an average citizen, not a known journalist. Choose someone unknown to the person at the counter. Wait for a while and try it then. Change the approach to the agency with respect to the way the request is made.
Is there a parallel test that could be administered for Ms. Davis? Cheating on a test in school is grounds for failure. I hazard a guess that there are some students who wish she had been available to them during tests in school and that she gave them the answers, too! Her actions are tantamount to cheating and unauthorized collaboration. She gets a failing grade from me.
Perhaps the request should be made again in the future by an average citizen, not a known journalist. Choose someone unknown to the person at the counter. Wait for a while and try it then. Change the approach to the agency with respect to the way the request is made.
Is there a parallel test that could be administered for Ms. Davis? Cheating on a test in school is grounds for failure. I hazard a guess that there are some students who wish she had been available to them during tests in school and that she gave them the answers, too! Her actions are tantamount to cheating and unauthorized collaboration. She gets a failing grade from me.
Perhaps the request should be made again in the future by an average citizen, not a known journalist. Choose someone unknown to the person at the counter. Wait for a while and try it then. Change the approach to the agency with respect to the way the request is made.
Is there a parallel test that could be administered for Ms. Davis? Cheating on a test in school is grounds for failure. I hazard a guess that there are some students who wish she had been available to them during tests in school and that she gave them the answers, too! Her actions are tantamount to cheating and unauthorized collaboration. She gets a failing grade from me.
Perhaps the request should be made again in the future by an average citizen, not a known journalist. Choose someone unknown to the person at the counter. Wait for a while and try it then. Change the approach to the agency with respect to the way the request is made.
Is there a parallel test that could be administered for Ms. Davis? Cheating on a test in school is grounds for failure. I hazard a guess that there are some students who wish she had been available to them during tests in school and that she gave them the answers, too! Her actions are tantamount to cheating and unauthorized collaboration. She gets a failing grade from me.
The Davis “experience” make you wonder about the reliability of the entire survey. SAH
The Davis “experience” make you wonder about the reliability of the entire survey. SAH
The Davis “experience” make you wonder about the reliability of the entire survey. SAH
The Davis “experience” make you wonder about the reliability of the entire survey. SAH
The Davis “experience” make you wonder about the reliability of the entire survey. SAH
The Davis “experience” make you wonder about the reliability of the entire survey. SAH
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
This is more evidence that Davis Enterprise is severely lacking the integrity and honesty to be a dependable public service to their readers and our community. The Enterprise’s manipulation of the story by omitting key facts and deliberately misinforming the readers is a scandal.
The fact that Debbie Davis would deliberately “tip off” interim Police Chief Steve Pierce to the purpose of the inquiry and the article to be written knowing full well that by doing so she would skew the results is unacceptable. The Davis Enterprises readers deserve an apology from both the reporter Lauren Keene and the editor Debbie Davis for manipulating the news.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
Golden’s notes about the front-desk statement that they were “short-staffed” rang a bell with me.. Recently, I went to the DPD station to dispose of a box of old shotgun shells. Front-desk told me that they were “short-staffed” and I would have to wait until a patrol officer came in.. Evidently, there was noone in that entire building to help me on a weekday afternoon. Sat there for an hour and then got up and left.. I still have that box of shells that need disposal.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
What occurred during the audit is really really unfortunate. The Davis Enterprise editor does owe her readers an apology. She also owes the Interim Police Chief an apology for undermining the audit of his department and putting him in this awkward position. She did him no favor.
Lauren Keene owes an apology, too. She could have told the WHOLE truth in her article.
Lauren Keene owes an apology, too. She could have told the WHOLE truth in her article.
Lauren Keene owes an apology, too. She could have told the WHOLE truth in her article.
Lauren Keene owes an apology, too. She could have told the WHOLE truth in her article.
Claire St. John a week or two ago logged on to tell us that the Vanguard often got things wrong. I am curious as to whether in her opinion, the Vanguard has gotten this one right.
Claire St. John a week or two ago logged on to tell us that the Vanguard often got things wrong. I am curious as to whether in her opinion, the Vanguard has gotten this one right.
Claire St. John a week or two ago logged on to tell us that the Vanguard often got things wrong. I am curious as to whether in her opinion, the Vanguard has gotten this one right.
Claire St. John a week or two ago logged on to tell us that the Vanguard often got things wrong. I am curious as to whether in her opinion, the Vanguard has gotten this one right.
Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….
Speaking of layout, this blog would be infinitely easier to read if it wasn’t white on black type, a no-no which is graphics 101. Kind of looks like a site for a death-metal band.
— Iggy Grand Pop
Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….
Speaking of layout, this blog would be infinitely easier to read if it wasn’t white on black type, a no-no which is graphics 101. Kind of looks like a site for a death-metal band.
— Iggy Grand Pop
Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….
Speaking of layout, this blog would be infinitely easier to read if it wasn’t white on black type, a no-no which is graphics 101. Kind of looks like a site for a death-metal band.
— Iggy Grand Pop
Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….
Speaking of layout, this blog would be infinitely easier to read if it wasn’t white on black type, a no-no which is graphics 101. Kind of looks like a site for a death-metal band.
— Iggy Grand Pop
That’s interesting but to me it still doesn’t address the failure to disclose the facts of this story.
That’s interesting but to me it still doesn’t address the failure to disclose the facts of this story.
That’s interesting but to me it still doesn’t address the failure to disclose the facts of this story.
That’s interesting but to me it still doesn’t address the failure to disclose the facts of this story.
I don’t understand Iggy Pop’s comment either. Either the Davis Enterprise reported this story accurately or they didn’t. Them having to put out a Daily Newspaper is irreverent to that question and it does not excuse the newspaper if they tried to cover this up by their lack of reporting.
Without the Sacramento Bee’s story, would we even know about this?
I don’t understand Iggy Pop’s comment either. Either the Davis Enterprise reported this story accurately or they didn’t. Them having to put out a Daily Newspaper is irreverent to that question and it does not excuse the newspaper if they tried to cover this up by their lack of reporting.
Without the Sacramento Bee’s story, would we even know about this?
I don’t understand Iggy Pop’s comment either. Either the Davis Enterprise reported this story accurately or they didn’t. Them having to put out a Daily Newspaper is irreverent to that question and it does not excuse the newspaper if they tried to cover this up by their lack of reporting.
Without the Sacramento Bee’s story, would we even know about this?
I don’t understand Iggy Pop’s comment either. Either the Davis Enterprise reported this story accurately or they didn’t. Them having to put out a Daily Newspaper is irreverent to that question and it does not excuse the newspaper if they tried to cover this up by their lack of reporting.
Without the Sacramento Bee’s story, would we even know about this?
Iggy Grand Pop-
You comment “Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….”
Thanks for the rendition of the daily struggles of the Davis Enterprise creating the product that they sell to the community and make a living at. Every business has their struggles and your paper does too. Still, it does not excuse the Enterprise nor relieve them of the responsibility that any business has which is to deliver a product or service of value to their customers. The Enterprise sells two products: advertising and news stories. I am sure that the paper’s advertisers want their products and services accurately depicted. Likewise, readers should also expect a product in the form of stories and columns to be accurate and credible too.
In the Enterprise’s case, the reporters, the editor and columnist Bob Dunning frequently get their facts and stories wrong. People speculate as to whether this is due to incompetence, laziness or their bias. When the paper produces an inaccurate story or column they reduce their value to their customers and our community.
Iggy Grand Pop-
You comment “Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….”
Thanks for the rendition of the daily struggles of the Davis Enterprise creating the product that they sell to the community and make a living at. Every business has their struggles and your paper does too. Still, it does not excuse the Enterprise nor relieve them of the responsibility that any business has which is to deliver a product or service of value to their customers. The Enterprise sells two products: advertising and news stories. I am sure that the paper’s advertisers want their products and services accurately depicted. Likewise, readers should also expect a product in the form of stories and columns to be accurate and credible too.
In the Enterprise’s case, the reporters, the editor and columnist Bob Dunning frequently get their facts and stories wrong. People speculate as to whether this is due to incompetence, laziness or their bias. When the paper produces an inaccurate story or column they reduce their value to their customers and our community.
Iggy Grand Pop-
You comment “Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….”
Thanks for the rendition of the daily struggles of the Davis Enterprise creating the product that they sell to the community and make a living at. Every business has their struggles and your paper does too. Still, it does not excuse the Enterprise nor relieve them of the responsibility that any business has which is to deliver a product or service of value to their customers. The Enterprise sells two products: advertising and news stories. I am sure that the paper’s advertisers want their products and services accurately depicted. Likewise, readers should also expect a product in the form of stories and columns to be accurate and credible too.
In the Enterprise’s case, the reporters, the editor and columnist Bob Dunning frequently get their facts and stories wrong. People speculate as to whether this is due to incompetence, laziness or their bias. When the paper produces an inaccurate story or column they reduce their value to their customers and our community.
Iggy Grand Pop-
You comment “Yeah, the Enterprise, that den of media conspiracy, champion of all things evil. Despite having to get a daily out with a small staff, fact checking, doing layout, training new reporters, working with advertising circulation and community publicity whores, responding to breaking news — in short producing a daily paper rather than effortlessly blogging out of their collective rears — they still have their daily meetings to conspire with Big Brother and beat down Da Man….”
Thanks for the rendition of the daily struggles of the Davis Enterprise creating the product that they sell to the community and make a living at. Every business has their struggles and your paper does too. Still, it does not excuse the Enterprise nor relieve them of the responsibility that any business has which is to deliver a product or service of value to their customers. The Enterprise sells two products: advertising and news stories. I am sure that the paper’s advertisers want their products and services accurately depicted. Likewise, readers should also expect a product in the form of stories and columns to be accurate and credible too.
In the Enterprise’s case, the reporters, the editor and columnist Bob Dunning frequently get their facts and stories wrong. People speculate as to whether this is due to incompetence, laziness or their bias. When the paper produces an inaccurate story or column they reduce their value to their customers and our community.
I feel that the only reson the DPD can say they are “short staffed” is because they have all their personnel out on the streets pulling over one car for a traffic violation which of course then requires back-up because you know us Davisites, we are horrible criminals. I saw the other week an older man in a mini-van got pulled over for whatever, and here comes the second car. It is not the only time myself and others have seen this. Maybe if the DPD did a little reworking on their shift schedules, there could actually be enough people at the station to take care of shotgun shells, records requests and oh yeah, answering emergency calls without being put on hold.
I feel that the only reson the DPD can say they are “short staffed” is because they have all their personnel out on the streets pulling over one car for a traffic violation which of course then requires back-up because you know us Davisites, we are horrible criminals. I saw the other week an older man in a mini-van got pulled over for whatever, and here comes the second car. It is not the only time myself and others have seen this. Maybe if the DPD did a little reworking on their shift schedules, there could actually be enough people at the station to take care of shotgun shells, records requests and oh yeah, answering emergency calls without being put on hold.
I feel that the only reson the DPD can say they are “short staffed” is because they have all their personnel out on the streets pulling over one car for a traffic violation which of course then requires back-up because you know us Davisites, we are horrible criminals. I saw the other week an older man in a mini-van got pulled over for whatever, and here comes the second car. It is not the only time myself and others have seen this. Maybe if the DPD did a little reworking on their shift schedules, there could actually be enough people at the station to take care of shotgun shells, records requests and oh yeah, answering emergency calls without being put on hold.
I feel that the only reson the DPD can say they are “short staffed” is because they have all their personnel out on the streets pulling over one car for a traffic violation which of course then requires back-up because you know us Davisites, we are horrible criminals. I saw the other week an older man in a mini-van got pulled over for whatever, and here comes the second car. It is not the only time myself and others have seen this. Maybe if the DPD did a little reworking on their shift schedules, there could actually be enough people at the station to take care of shotgun shells, records requests and oh yeah, answering emergency calls without being put on hold.
I’d just like to clarify the issues of the ‘script,’ as I called it in my e-mail to Californians Aware: the organization asked reporters and editors, if asked by police, to say the public records requests were for a story. That the acting chief called my editor after I was
recognized at the police department as a reporter, rather than a resident, I don’t think is surprising. That’s especially true because of the unusual nature of some of the requests, like asking about officers’ second jobs, and
the variety of them. I’m just speculating, but I’m sure
having a reporter who isn’t the longtime beat reporter(Lauren Keene) make the request and to have a reporter not submit a request through the public information officer, but at the front desk, was confusing too. I used to cover
the police in a city of 225,000, and I have no doubt that the chief there would have done the same thing. In any case, my editor, Debbie Davis, took the call from the department while on deadline and, on the spot, decided to
explain the entire situation. Her explanation to me was that we expect the department to be forthright with us, so she wanted to treat them the same way. My colleague Lauren Keene, who was heading up our part of the audit, contacted Californians Aware, which urged us to go ahead with the
audit. In the end, the organization told us that they decided to include and grade what I submitted for Davis PD because, I gathered, many reporters were recognized in
other locations, thus, word about the audit moved around the state quickly. What I do know for sure is that Debbie’s was a spur of the moment decision. She didn’t, say, call the department in advance, if that’s what ‘tipped off’ implied to you. As I said in my e-mail to Californians Aware, the department did comply with the requests and, with one exception, did so within the time alloted. The question about how Davis PD would have
responded to any other resident remains a valid one, I think, but it’s one that holds true for any law enforcement agency where a reporter was recognized during
the audit. In my e-mail I used the word ‘unfortunately’ to describe Debbie’s actions because I, too, would have liked to have seen the audit work as designed. That said, I respect Debbie’s feelings about the importance of maintaining open, honest communication.
Cory Golden
I’d just like to clarify the issues of the ‘script,’ as I called it in my e-mail to Californians Aware: the organization asked reporters and editors, if asked by police, to say the public records requests were for a story. That the acting chief called my editor after I was
recognized at the police department as a reporter, rather than a resident, I don’t think is surprising. That’s especially true because of the unusual nature of some of the requests, like asking about officers’ second jobs, and
the variety of them. I’m just speculating, but I’m sure
having a reporter who isn’t the longtime beat reporter(Lauren Keene) make the request and to have a reporter not submit a request through the public information officer, but at the front desk, was confusing too. I used to cover
the police in a city of 225,000, and I have no doubt that the chief there would have done the same thing. In any case, my editor, Debbie Davis, took the call from the department while on deadline and, on the spot, decided to
explain the entire situation. Her explanation to me was that we expect the department to be forthright with us, so she wanted to treat them the same way. My colleague Lauren Keene, who was heading up our part of the audit, contacted Californians Aware, which urged us to go ahead with the
audit. In the end, the organization told us that they decided to include and grade what I submitted for Davis PD because, I gathered, many reporters were recognized in
other locations, thus, word about the audit moved around the state quickly. What I do know for sure is that Debbie’s was a spur of the moment decision. She didn’t, say, call the department in advance, if that’s what ‘tipped off’ implied to you. As I said in my e-mail to Californians Aware, the department did comply with the requests and, with one exception, did so within the time alloted. The question about how Davis PD would have
responded to any other resident remains a valid one, I think, but it’s one that holds true for any law enforcement agency where a reporter was recognized during
the audit. In my e-mail I used the word ‘unfortunately’ to describe Debbie’s actions because I, too, would have liked to have seen the audit work as designed. That said, I respect Debbie’s feelings about the importance of maintaining open, honest communication.
Cory Golden
I’d just like to clarify the issues of the ‘script,’ as I called it in my e-mail to Californians Aware: the organization asked reporters and editors, if asked by police, to say the public records requests were for a story. That the acting chief called my editor after I was
recognized at the police department as a reporter, rather than a resident, I don’t think is surprising. That’s especially true because of the unusual nature of some of the requests, like asking about officers’ second jobs, and
the variety of them. I’m just speculating, but I’m sure
having a reporter who isn’t the longtime beat reporter(Lauren Keene) make the request and to have a reporter not submit a request through the public information officer, but at the front desk, was confusing too. I used to cover
the police in a city of 225,000, and I have no doubt that the chief there would have done the same thing. In any case, my editor, Debbie Davis, took the call from the department while on deadline and, on the spot, decided to
explain the entire situation. Her explanation to me was that we expect the department to be forthright with us, so she wanted to treat them the same way. My colleague Lauren Keene, who was heading up our part of the audit, contacted Californians Aware, which urged us to go ahead with the
audit. In the end, the organization told us that they decided to include and grade what I submitted for Davis PD because, I gathered, many reporters were recognized in
other locations, thus, word about the audit moved around the state quickly. What I do know for sure is that Debbie’s was a spur of the moment decision. She didn’t, say, call the department in advance, if that’s what ‘tipped off’ implied to you. As I said in my e-mail to Californians Aware, the department did comply with the requests and, with one exception, did so within the time alloted. The question about how Davis PD would have
responded to any other resident remains a valid one, I think, but it’s one that holds true for any law enforcement agency where a reporter was recognized during
the audit. In my e-mail I used the word ‘unfortunately’ to describe Debbie’s actions because I, too, would have liked to have seen the audit work as designed. That said, I respect Debbie’s feelings about the importance of maintaining open, honest communication.
Cory Golden
I’d just like to clarify the issues of the ‘script,’ as I called it in my e-mail to Californians Aware: the organization asked reporters and editors, if asked by police, to say the public records requests were for a story. That the acting chief called my editor after I was
recognized at the police department as a reporter, rather than a resident, I don’t think is surprising. That’s especially true because of the unusual nature of some of the requests, like asking about officers’ second jobs, and
the variety of them. I’m just speculating, but I’m sure
having a reporter who isn’t the longtime beat reporter(Lauren Keene) make the request and to have a reporter not submit a request through the public information officer, but at the front desk, was confusing too. I used to cover
the police in a city of 225,000, and I have no doubt that the chief there would have done the same thing. In any case, my editor, Debbie Davis, took the call from the department while on deadline and, on the spot, decided to
explain the entire situation. Her explanation to me was that we expect the department to be forthright with us, so she wanted to treat them the same way. My colleague Lauren Keene, who was heading up our part of the audit, contacted Californians Aware, which urged us to go ahead with the
audit. In the end, the organization told us that they decided to include and grade what I submitted for Davis PD because, I gathered, many reporters were recognized in
other locations, thus, word about the audit moved around the state quickly. What I do know for sure is that Debbie’s was a spur of the moment decision. She didn’t, say, call the department in advance, if that’s what ‘tipped off’ implied to you. As I said in my e-mail to Californians Aware, the department did comply with the requests and, with one exception, did so within the time alloted. The question about how Davis PD would have
responded to any other resident remains a valid one, I think, but it’s one that holds true for any law enforcement agency where a reporter was recognized during
the audit. In my e-mail I used the word ‘unfortunately’ to describe Debbie’s actions because I, too, would have liked to have seen the audit work as designed. That said, I respect Debbie’s feelings about the importance of maintaining open, honest communication.
Cory Golden
Folks the above response was from Corey Golden who wanted to clarify his position.
I had a couple of responses to his email to clarify my story:
1. I took what you said by “tip” to mean that Chief Pierce called Debbie and asked her and that instead of playing by some prearranged response, informed him as to what was going on.
2. At that point, I think the audit should have been aborted. My personal opinion as an outsider. In my other life I do political science research and have at times used laboratory experiments. Any time a control condition is breached, the test is invalidated.
3. My main concern was the story by Lauren Keene. Things happen, accidents occur and that is you know, unavoidable and completely understandable. My concern was that reading Lauren Keene’s story you do not get the sense what happened here. She quoted Pierce saying this was as he would normally handle and yet your comments indicate that there was at the very least some doubt. That’s why I chose to report on that, and I realize that you are in a tough spot and certainly I think you acted appropriately, I just question the decisions made by Keene and Davis in this regard.
Folks the above response was from Corey Golden who wanted to clarify his position.
I had a couple of responses to his email to clarify my story:
1. I took what you said by “tip” to mean that Chief Pierce called Debbie and asked her and that instead of playing by some prearranged response, informed him as to what was going on.
2. At that point, I think the audit should have been aborted. My personal opinion as an outsider. In my other life I do political science research and have at times used laboratory experiments. Any time a control condition is breached, the test is invalidated.
3. My main concern was the story by Lauren Keene. Things happen, accidents occur and that is you know, unavoidable and completely understandable. My concern was that reading Lauren Keene’s story you do not get the sense what happened here. She quoted Pierce saying this was as he would normally handle and yet your comments indicate that there was at the very least some doubt. That’s why I chose to report on that, and I realize that you are in a tough spot and certainly I think you acted appropriately, I just question the decisions made by Keene and Davis in this regard.
Folks the above response was from Corey Golden who wanted to clarify his position.
I had a couple of responses to his email to clarify my story:
1. I took what you said by “tip” to mean that Chief Pierce called Debbie and asked her and that instead of playing by some prearranged response, informed him as to what was going on.
2. At that point, I think the audit should have been aborted. My personal opinion as an outsider. In my other life I do political science research and have at times used laboratory experiments. Any time a control condition is breached, the test is invalidated.
3. My main concern was the story by Lauren Keene. Things happen, accidents occur and that is you know, unavoidable and completely understandable. My concern was that reading Lauren Keene’s story you do not get the sense what happened here. She quoted Pierce saying this was as he would normally handle and yet your comments indicate that there was at the very least some doubt. That’s why I chose to report on that, and I realize that you are in a tough spot and certainly I think you acted appropriately, I just question the decisions made by Keene and Davis in this regard.
Folks the above response was from Corey Golden who wanted to clarify his position.
I had a couple of responses to his email to clarify my story:
1. I took what you said by “tip” to mean that Chief Pierce called Debbie and asked her and that instead of playing by some prearranged response, informed him as to what was going on.
2. At that point, I think the audit should have been aborted. My personal opinion as an outsider. In my other life I do political science research and have at times used laboratory experiments. Any time a control condition is breached, the test is invalidated.
3. My main concern was the story by Lauren Keene. Things happen, accidents occur and that is you know, unavoidable and completely understandable. My concern was that reading Lauren Keene’s story you do not get the sense what happened here. She quoted Pierce saying this was as he would normally handle and yet your comments indicate that there was at the very least some doubt. That’s why I chose to report on that, and I realize that you are in a tough spot and certainly I think you acted appropriately, I just question the decisions made by Keene and Davis in this regard.
You might try checking names – especially since he bothered to clarify his notes for the Vanguard.
His name is spelled Cory Golden, not Corey Golden. It’s right there in the post above.
Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black?
You might try checking names – especially since he bothered to clarify his notes for the Vanguard.
His name is spelled Cory Golden, not Corey Golden. It’s right there in the post above.
Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black?
You might try checking names – especially since he bothered to clarify his notes for the Vanguard.
His name is spelled Cory Golden, not Corey Golden. It’s right there in the post above.
Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black?
You might try checking names – especially since he bothered to clarify his notes for the Vanguard.
His name is spelled Cory Golden, not Corey Golden. It’s right there in the post above.
Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black?
Unfortunately I do not have an edit feature in the comments portion of the blog.
Unfortunately I do not have an edit feature in the comments portion of the blog.
Unfortunately I do not have an edit feature in the comments portion of the blog.
Unfortunately I do not have an edit feature in the comments portion of the blog.
The typical violations are a demand for the requester to disclose his identity and a demand to know the reason for the request. This procedure did not effectively test for either violation. I also find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. The Yolo DA’s office should also be tested. What will you find if you ask for something sensitive? The Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
The typical violations are a demand for the requester to disclose his identity and a demand to know the reason for the request. This procedure did not effectively test for either violation. I also find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. The Yolo DA’s office should also be tested. What will you find if you ask for something sensitive? The Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
The typical violations are a demand for the requester to disclose his identity and a demand to know the reason for the request. This procedure did not effectively test for either violation. I also find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. The Yolo DA’s office should also be tested. What will you find if you ask for something sensitive? The Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
The typical violations are a demand for the requester to disclose his identity and a demand to know the reason for the request. This procedure did not effectively test for either violation. I also find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. The Yolo DA’s office should also be tested. What will you find if you ask for something sensitive? The Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
I find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. His office should also be tested. I’ve done it, and the Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
I find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. His office should also be tested. I’ve done it, and the Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
I find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. His office should also be tested. I’ve done it, and the Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.
I find it interesting that only the police department was “tested”, if you can call it that under the circumstances. The Yolo County DA is also law enforcement. His office should also be tested. I’ve done it, and the Yolo DA rates a lawsuit for civil rights violations, not just a less than failing grade.