Digital Media Manager Parisa Safarzadeh and PIO Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Texas spoke at SMILE 2015 on the subject of having one voice in the media during an incident involving multiple agencies.
Quick Summary:
In July 2014, 33-year-old Ronald Lee Haskell shot seven people — five of them children — while searching for his ex-wife. All of the victims were related to Haskell’s former spouse. One child survived the massacre and identified the gunman to officers. The suspect met police from multiple agencies at the home of his ex-wife’s grandparents and engaged them in a pursuit, eventually leading to a multi-hour standoff in a cul-de-sac that ended without further bloodshed or shots fired.
On a hectic day involving multiple agencies and a staggering amount of moving parts, Gilliland would spend some of it correcting rumors and getting the horrific story, which made national headlines, correct with the media. A constable had already given out a soundbite to the press at the first crime scene with very little real information — the house had not yet been cleared and police didn’t know how many bodies they were dealing with. The constable had mistakenly identified the survivor as a 35-year-old female — a far cry from actual survivor Cassidy Stay, who was 15-years-old at the time.
Memorable Quotes:
“Trying to stem the rumors and get back on track was very difficult at first. The genie had already been let out of the bottle. I needed to find the true facts, get the story back on track, and create one official release.” — Gilliland
“We all know there’s a story to tell. We want to tell it before the media does.” — Gilliland
3 Key Takeaways:
- Gilliland and Safarzadeh stressed the importance of having one official voice for the media during incidents such as the Stay family killings in order to keep the narrative in control. The first thing Gilliland told reporters was that the HCSO was the only agency whose information releases were official. An agreement needs to be made ahead of time on who is responsible for handling the media.
- These incidents are understandably busy, and it can be frustrating to interact with a hungry press while you’re working the scene of a crime. By having a plan — in the HCSO’s case, gathering reporters into one location and having their media team send out breaking news updates online every half hour — the department was able to alleviate the amount of questions coming from journalists.
- Become the news source. Who better to tell the story than yourselves? The HCSO’s media team has a dedicated news website they write themselves, clear with the legal team, and frequently update. When Haskell was arraigned, the team was there to report on it. The agency directs the media there for inquires. Safarzadeh said both reporters and the public love the site, and it is very inexpensive to produce.
Other Observations:
HCSO uses both the Nixle and NextDoor platforms to keep the public informed, and view them as vital tools to keeping the community safe.
Don’t forget to acknowledge the good work of your officers. In the aftermath of the Stay killings, the HCSO’s media team published a post on their Facebook page to give acknowledgemnt to those who spent long hours on a hot July day to end the situation peacefully.
