Get all the facts before coming to a conclusion
Editor's notes Evan Carden

Sometimes there are instances when the entire story is not told at first, leading many people to reach the wrong conclusions. When receiving information should wait until the entire story is told before making a decision about the truth of what has occurred.

Take for instance the videoing of one of our local law enforcement officers apprehending a suspect, which has been broadcast numerous times on a Mobile news program. What the public has been shown may not be everything that happened during that incident.

The tactics used by the officer to subdue the subject have been called into question thanks mainly to the broadcast version of this video. Our local district attorney has asked for the entire raw tape from the television station, but the station's executives have offered only to turn over the footage shown on the news broadcast.

The investigation will more than likely be turned over to an agency not associated with any of the departments involved in this matter in an effort to reach an unbiased conclusion. I believe the raw footage should be turned over so that the entire event that was captured on tape can be studied to determine whether the officer in question actually used excessive force as has been suggested.

What does the television station have to gain by not providing the raw tape? Maybe they are afraid of losing some credibility if it is determined that the tape was edited to show just one aspect of the event.

I am not defending the police officer in question, but a number of factors have to be taken into account when viewing this video. For one, we don't know what occurred prior to this footage. Sometimes what leads up to the conclusion of a situation determines the outcome and often that can shed light on why that point was reached.

It is not up to me, "Joe Public," to decide whether or not this police officer used excessive force. I will not make a final decision on my opinion about this case until I have learned all of the facts. Until that time, I promise you that I will report on it as fairly as I know how until the investigation is complete and all the facts are revealed. I would suggest to our readers that they do the same.

I also believe the television station should provide the entire unedited tape to those charged with conducting the investigation. As a courier of the news, I feel it is their obligation to assist in getting to the truth no matter what the outcome.

Perhaps I'm like Paul Harvey. I will reserve judgement until I know "the rest of the story."

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