Sanford PD: Journalists who contact city employees as private citizens will be arrested as stalkers

[Amerigo Vespucci]

On Tuesday the Sanford Police released a statement saying that journalists who try to contact city employees "when they are in their roles as private citizens," calling it "stalking," would be arrested. Today State Attorney Angela Corey's office released a statement saying that it would not comment any further and "If anything needs to be disseminated, you will receive an alert via email."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmermans-lawyers-comment-police-video/story?id=16033712#.T3T32TJhC-Y

[saras]

1. Whereas actual stalkers will be shielded by the police until they can escape...

I guess if you want to go after a city employee, you should join Neighborhood Watch first.

[nobodyspecial]

2. Yeah, start arresting journalists

That will take the spotlight off of you.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. The "police station video" story appeared in the Guardian U.K. today...

...the only reason I didn't post it on DU is that the story itself had been posted and discussed extensively already, and the only thing that made it different was the U.K. source.

That said, the world is watching. It's no longer the story of some black kid in a Southern town no one heard of a month ago. "Sanford" is wearing the scarlet letter.

[Th1onein]

3. They're showing their muscles, aren't they?

Just like the police state thugs that they are. Only idiots who forget the source of their power fuck with the press. I dare them to arrest one reporter. Just one. They think they're in a feeding frenzy now? Go ahead, idiots, arrest some reporters.

[lonestarnot]

10. Now that should make for some good entertainment.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Did the police forget the press buys

ink by the bucketful?

[Mopar151]

7. It's a new era

And the press has a virtually unlimited supply of electrons! And a whole lotta wires to pour 'em into.

[mick063]

6. The city of Sanford is obviously clueless with several issues.

We know they can't run a police department.

We know that their City Council, City Manager, and Mayor do not comprehend the concept of oversight, intra department communication, or department accountability despite a wealth of civic examples to follow. Civic leaders across the nation are just face-palming at the Sanford ineptness. These are the folks that have had the most access to "the facts" and despite an investigator report that contradicts the state Attorney General, they feel compelled to "wait for more answers." This only in response to a big media bomb that blew up in their otherwise quiet neck of the woods.

Now, new, developing events are revealing their incompetence with crisis management, information disclosure, and public relations.

Perhaps the worst civic government I have followed in quite awhile. Every last one of those elected officials couldn't manage the most routine of municipal tasks, let alone the Martin firestorm.

[Mopar151]

8. One thing i've noticed since the Age of Reagan

A major hallmark of "big C" conservatives is simple incompetence, and inability to adapt to a changing world. So when they try to sweep something under the rug, and the fix don't take like it used to, they get MAD. And then they really start fuckin' up. And goddamit, this must be somebody's fault, like all you nosy reporters who don't go along with the fix like you did in the old days.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

9. Pretty ironic considering Zimmerman stalked Martin from his car before killing him.