Officials finally explain police action; will Courier-Post explain failure to cover it?

On May 11, police forces from Camden County and Collingswood teamed up for a well-orchestrated tactical operation that 

Then, and despite state law clearly spelling out that law-enforcement agencies must provide basic information on arrests within 24 hours, we got nothing to explain what had happened in broad daylight near the Heights of Collingswood. The most we got was a prosecutor’s office spokesman telling everyone not to worry about it: No details would be released anytime soon, Jason Laughlin said, because an investigation was ongoing.

Finally, 16 days after the operation, authorities are telling us it was a . Taylor Bennett, 27, of Collingswood, was the lone suspect apprehended. Bennett was charged with possession of Oxycodone with intent to distribute. He allegedly had 49 pills on his person at the time of his arrest, according to a Collingswood Patch report.

But Collingswood police confirmed “multiple arrests” to Patch in the days after the operation. Was it one arrest or multiple? Don’t expect an answer anytime soon from the officials who clearly aren’t interested in obeying the law.

You know who might be able to apply some pressure on these government officials? Well, normally the local media takes the lead in that kind of thing. Sadly, the Courier-Post, “South Jersey’s newspaper,” has been completely silent on this matter. According to their archives, they didn’t cover the original operation, the prosecutor’s office apparently breaking the open public records law or the eventual release of the suspect’s name.

If you want to know why, I strongly encourage you to write to the managing editor, Leon Tucker, at ltucker@gannett.com or the general manager, Gene Williams, at gewilliams@gannett.com (while you’re at it, feel free to ask them why those addresses are not available on their website).

I want to be clear in stating that I have the utmost appreciation for the police officers who took part in this operation. Men and women like them risk their lives every day to try to remove criminals from the street. It’s their efforts that make this region safe for me, my wife, my son and our friends and neighbors. I thank them for that.

But when the authorities that oversee those officers decide to break the law, it results in an erosion of the trust residents have for all law enforcement.

And while this case appears to be a minor situation, that makes the decision to keep the information from the public all the more troubling. Furthermore, as a journalist, the failure of the Courier-Post in this matter is perhaps most troubling. There was a time when newspapers took their role as watchdog seriously. Sadly, that does not appear to be the case under the current management.