Officer-involved shooting

[Jon]

Some readers took issue with a recent headline about an officer-involved shooting that took place Friday. We had "Police shoot, kill man" which was true. But some wanted us to be more specific that the man was wanted for robbery. Another reader accused us of reporting hearsay even though all our information was directly from the police.

I suppose some police and their supporters are sensitive to any story that may be poerceived as painting them in a negative light.

However, I thought a careful read of the story would show that the police took appropriate action and prevented more harm at the hands of a dangerous man.

[cynthialstern]

Maybe, "Police Shoot, Kill, Armed Robbbery Suspect" would have been more-effective, provided that you had room for that many words in the space that was allotted to the article. For all I know, the brevity may have been necessary. (I know NOTHING about newspaper layouts.)

[jonvn]

It's not police supporters. The headline implied something different than what the story said.


I shouldn't have to read a story carefully to get that the headline is of a different meaning than its implication.

"Police kill robbery suspect"

That works.

[Jon]

Point well taken. It wasn't just a man, it was a robbery suspect. While these decisions on headlines don't come easy or taken lightly, there is always room for improvement.