Column: Help, don't hinder law enforcement
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 9:46am
This wasn't the column I had planned to write. But so much social media drama has developed from the homicides in Gardnerville and South Reno that I think a public service announcement is necessary.
If you are one of these people posting on social media that you have information on the murders, I urge you to contact law enforcement immediately. Call Secret Witness at 775-322-4900 so that you can remain anonymous.
Posting unconfirmed, unofficial information on social media and withholding sources does two things: One, it heightens anxiety among the public, inciting fear and panic; and two, it interferes with a law enforcement investigation, which can be considered criminal obstruction punishable by jail time.
According to Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 197.190, Obstructing a public officer, "Every person who, after due notice, shall refuse or neglect to make or furnish any statement, report or information lawfully required of the person by any public officer, or who, in such statement, report or information shall make any willfully untrue, misleading or exaggerated statement, or who shall willfully hinder, delay or obstruct any public officer in the discharge of official powers or duties, shall, where no other provision of law applies, be guilty of a misdemeanor."
Maybe I am preaching to the choir around here, but the message is important enough to bear repeating.
I know many of us just want to help the community stay safe. But circulating and spreading unconfirmed information can be dangerous to a community and to the law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs.
Speculation is not fact and is not helpful to anyone.
If you have sources that you say gave you information on a case, but you decline to reveal them, you put everyone at risk. I have to question, too, how truthful a person is being if they are unwilling to say who they got the information from in the first place.
In a criminal investigation, and especially one of this magnitude, we are all mandatory reporters. If we have legitimate information that can lead to the apprehension of a suspect, we must report that. Failing to do so puts others in jeopardy.
Knowingly withholding information from law enforcement is a civil crime. If you are truly interested in helping your community stay safe, don't commit another crime by covering up a crime.
Social media can be a useful tool or a destructive weapon, depending on how one chooses to use it. So use it wisely and responsibly.
Don't spread rumors. Most of us are familiar with the rumor game. Information gets passed around the circle, and when it finally gets back to person who spread it in the first place, the story is completely different.
The grapevine is no place to share information about a crime. Our regional sheriff's offices all have detective divisions and special hotlines to call if you have information on a criminal case.
Use those resources to help keep your community safe. Not social media.
In the case of these homicides, a 24-hour regional hotline has been established. Call 775-321-4911 if you have information that can help law enforcement solve these cases.
Please, do not use social media. You are not helping the community by speculating and spreading information that you are unwilling to reveal to authorities.
If a person's social media posts are compromising or obstructing the investigations, then those can get reported. So be mindful of what you say online.
The integrity of these investigations is at stake, and the best help we can provide right now is not to get in the way.
Help, don't hinder.
