Thread by @chrisvanderveen

THREAD... Overnight... @DenverPolice reported three separate shootings...

Notice how each tweet (the extent of the information disclosed to press) essentially is a cut and paste tweet...

Did anyone die? Is the public at risk? How many shot?

This is ALL WE HAVE

@DenverPolice 2/ This all comes at a time when neither the public nor the press can listen to routine calls on scanner traffic because Denver has now taken all of its radio traffic offline... (encrypted)...

So we HAVE to rely on DPD, and DPD alone, for disseminating info...

@DenverPolice 3/ And this is what they give us...

A two-line tweet with scant info... This is the future my friends...

Let me tell you why even if you don't care about these THREE shootings... you might want to care about the issue...

@DenverPolice 4/ Yesterday, in our newsroom, we received a call that there was an active shooter near a hospital (I won't name now for reasons that should become obvious)

We sent a crew to the hospital... Not knowing any more info other than "Possible active shooter"

@DenverPolice 5/ Before scanners went encrypted... we could at least dictate our response based upon radio traffic... (Keep in mind, it's standard protocol in our newsroom to not immediately report what we are hearing on scanner)

But yesterday... we had to go on a call...

@DenverPolice 6/ Turns out, the call was unfounded...

But WE HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT BEFOREHAND....

Conversely, if it was a real active shooter event... our crew WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN THAT EITHER...

@DenverPolice 7/ Police departments -- on a regular basis -- do the right thing...

But we are not doing our jobs if we simply report their message...

It is our job to hold them (and every other govt agency) accountable... And Denver Police just took away one way for us to do that...

@DenverPolice 8/ So now we are subject to TWO-LINE NON DESCRIPTIVE TWEETS to help us dictate our coverage...

And that's sufficient?

Hours have passed since these THREE SHOOTINGS... and we have heard nothing more from Denver Police...

Is this ok?

cc: @MayorHancock

And, literally as I was writing these tweets...

@denverpolice and @DenSafetyDept DENIED our request for a copy of radio traffic from an earlier event.

#transparency

@DenverPolice @DenSafetyDept 10/ So... Denver Police also tells the public they can go to their Facebook page for up to date info...

As of now, there is ZERO information on THREE overnight shootings...

But there is this FB post... featuring Dinger... and their Safety Expo...

@DenverPolice @DenSafetyDept 11/ Oh... And @DenverPolice Chief Paul Pazen told the public last month... this...

@DenverPolice @DenSafetyDept 12/ But, as we learned today, Denver Police is telling us that while there is an open investigation (something that can last a very, very long time) they will NOT grant us access to recordings...

@DenverPolice @DenSafetyDept 13/ So, I clearly have gone on way too long about this...

I'll leave you with this...

Maybe Dinger will have more luck getting information on last night's trio of shootings...

Here’s the thing.

Three people shot and killed in Denver in less than 12 hours.

This doesn’t typically happen here.

If I were @denverpolice or @MayorHancock, I’d at least consider holding a press conference to update community.

But that’s just me.