Tuesday, September 23, 2014

"OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING - YOU CAN WIN WITH THE MEDIA."

If you are a cadet in training with the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy, good news! Beginning at 8:00 AM on October 24, you are welcome to attend a seminar titled "OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING - YOU CAN WIN WITH THE MEDIA."

"The shooting death of a black teenager by a white police officer on August 9th in Ferguson, Missouri and the events that followed were tragic," reads the flyer announcing the seminar. "In addition to the Ferguson case study, this fast-paced class is jam-packed with the essential strategies and tactics, skills and techniques that will help you WIN WITH THE MEDIA!"
Those block-letters, by the way, are recreated here as they actually appear on the flyer.

So. Students of the profession of policing in St. Louis are invited to a seminar, the advertisement for which devotes one (1) sentence to the tragedy that was the multi-round shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown at the hands of a white Ferguson police officer, but only after announcing in block letters that the key aspect of the seminar won't be, "Don't shoot unarmed black kids," but will be how to "WIN WITH THE MEDIA!"

It goes on:
"It is practical training," continues the flyer, "not theoretical: Take what you learn and put it to work for you on the street right away! The training is also highly entertaining: numerous video clips illustrate key points, and there is NO Power Point!"
Highly entertaining! No Power Point! Never mind all that guff about not shooting black kids! WIN WITH THE MEDIA WITHOUT POWER POINT AND BE HIGHLY ENTERTAINED!

"In addition to the detailed case study of Ferguson (including numerous practical tips for handling the media in an officer-involved shooting)..."
This is about controlling the media when someone gets shot down by a cop, and oops, maybe when that person is shot six times while on his knees with his hands up, the cop really screwed up, so let's hold a seminar on how to make sure no one ever, ever finds out the truth of what actually happened.
Continuing:
  • Meet the 900-Pound Gorilla
  • DWI and the Media
  • Feeding the Animals"In addition to the detailed case study of Ferguson (including numerous practical tips for handling the media in an officer-involved shooting) topics will include:
  • 'No comment' is a comment
  • Don't Get Stuck on Stupid!
  • Managing Media Assault and Battery
  • Managing the Media When Things Get Ugly (think Ferguson)
  • Managing the Media in a Crisis (including lessons learned from the Newtown, CT school shooting)"
That is the actual itinerary.

Full article here

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