Public’s right to know

Citizens depend on officials releasing accurate information as swiftly as possible

An incident at Maury High School in Norfolk last week should alarm residents of the region, not only because of what happened but because of the haphazard manner in which information was released to the public.

What we now know is that a 17-year-old student suffered a gunshot wound to the hand when the firearm he had in class apparently discharged. The school was placed in lockdown and the student was taken to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters for treatment.

Pilot reporters Saleen Martin and Sara Gregory, in their story about the incident, credited law enforcement for providing those facts, but pointed out that the information provided by the Norfolk Police Department and the Norfolk Public Schools were very different.

There’s a difference of 85 minutes between when police and the schools say the incident occurred, and school officials initially said the student had “lit up” one or two bullets during a science class. Police later confirmed that a gun was involved, but not before that incorrect information circulated.

The police department subsequently announced that two juveniles were arrested. The 17-year-old was charged with possession of a firearm on school property, shooting into an occupied school, reckless handling of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a minor.

A 16-year-old, who police say had possession of the weapon after it accidentally fired, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and possession of a firearm on school property.

The school was in lockdown until 2:45 p.m. but information from official sources was in conflict, meaning the public — including parents of students at the school — did not have a clear picture of what happened. That was cause for questions — especially given the initial report of a bullet “lit up” at the school — and allowed rumors and gossip to spread.

Give those working in public affairs roles the benefit of the doubt here. Surely they were trying to provide the most accurate information in the most timely manner possible. As any journalist knows, getting it right is always more important than getting it first.

That said, it is an infuriating reality of life in America that school shootings happen with alarming and terrifying frequency. Parents panic. The public needs answers. And those in official positions should have protocols in place to coordinate and streamline the release of information to ensure accuracy as well as speed.

However, it is a constant source of frustration that those official conduits for information are oftentimes reluctant to provide it, to the point of not responding to legitimate requests. Reporters make those inquiries on behalf of the people — families with kids in public schools, for teachers and administrators who work in public schools, for taxpayers who pay for public schools — and in the interest of accountability.

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act includes a number of exemptions related to law enforcement investigations, and officials routinely use them to deny the release of data and records.

Not for nothing, but the state FOIA puts those decisions in the hands of police, who can release information at their discretion.

Consider, for instance, another incident involving Norfolk schools, that of a teacher accused of abusing students in her special education class at Bay View Elementary School.

That involves juveniles, so officials are understandably cautious, but the journalist reporting about it faced numerous obstacles from law enforcement, which didn’t respond to repeated requests to confirm the details and answer questions about open warrants in the case.

Striking the right balance between public information and the right to privacy can be tricky. It is made more difficult by open government laws that leave open for interpretation the potential points of friction between citizens and public officials, such as information about law enforcement incidents or investigations.

However, in cases such as this, it would be better to err on the side of public information, to trust that citizens should know about what goes on in the schools where they send their kids and which are funded with public dollars.