Why did the Peoria police lie to the public about an arrest?

May 23, 2005
By Billy Dennis

Newly minted Police Chief Settingsgaard should consider this following this a lesson in how to not win the public’s trust. Within minutes of the murder of Jarmar Murdock, a known gang member was arrested and held pending first degree murder charges for the crime.

You would think that the Peoria Police Department would want to tell the public that an arrest had been made, if for no other reason than it makes the cops look like they are on the ball. A good reason to let the public know that an arrest was made is that it lets them breath a little easier than there’s one less murderous thug — allegedly, I am legally required to add — roaming the streets.

But instead, the PPD sends out a press release on Saturday night that says there’s been no arrest. Also, daily logs from Saturday and Sunday do not show the arrest at all.

The first problem with this is that it smacks of abuse. There are nations in the world where the police make secret arrests all the time. Trust me, we don’t want the United States or Peoria to become like those places.

Second, it not a good idea to lie to the press. You get caught enough times and the press just assumes what you say is suspect. And since the vast majority of the public gets all its information about government from the press when you lie to reporters, you are also lying to the public. And when you loose the voters’ trust, you tend to lose your job.

I don’t know what benefit the police believes there was in lying about having made no arrest on Saturday night. Perhaps withholding the information helped the investigation, although I can’t imagine why. zBut does the benefit outweigh the lost of trust and repect.

UPDATE: WEEK reports that another man has been arrested as well, for obstructing justice.

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3 Responses to “ Why did the Peoria police lie to the public about an arrest? ”

  1. Jasonpeoria911 on May 24, 2005 at 5:51 am

    The secrecy of the suspect arrest made me wonder also. Retaliation worries possibly? Who knows. Anyways I figured they had him in custody as I heard on the scanner that they found the 2 suspects walking in an alley within minutes after the shooting thanks to an awesome witness who gave a detailed description. Oh well, another couple murderers off the streets.

    Jason

  2. Josh on May 24, 2005 at 11:26 am

    And ransburg said that crime in Peoria wasn’t that bad and told Mayor Ardis to “Stop scarring everyone”.

  3. browneyedgirl on May 24, 2005 at 4:11 pm

    I think it was probably strategic. After all, why wouldn’t the cops want to brag about a speedy arrest?