NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Cop Upset at "Rolling Stone" Tsarnaev Cover Blows It Big Time
Cop Upset at "Rolling Stone" Tsarnaev Cover Blows It Big Time
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001059.html
A Massachusetts State Police Sergeant, upset with a "Rolling Stones"
magazine cover that some misguided observers felt "glamorized" Boston
bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has reportedly himself violated his oath,
undermined his agency, potentially put evidence in the bombing
investigation at risk, and demonstrated exactly how bad judgement
results in photos on the Internet that can haunt innocent parties
forever.
The current edition of "Rolling Stone" features a photo of Tsarnaev's
face, much as the magazine displayed a photo many years ago of Charles
Manson. The point of the image was obvious. This ordinary,
good-looking youth, appearing much like anyone else his age, somehow
became a monster. Monsters usually don't look like monsters. That
was the whole point. Rolling Stone got it exactly right, both in the
photo and their accompanying text and article.
But of course, getting it right isn't good enough today. Immediately
there was a massive clamor of protest from various agitators -- most
of whom appeared to have not even read the article (perhaps incapable
of reading words with that many syllables?) -- screaming that the
photo "glorified" Tsarnaev. Protests and boycotts were instantly
announced -- major store chains rushed to announce they'd refuse to
carry the issue, and stupidity reigned in the spotlight yet again.
Then, a Mass. State Police Sgt., who had access to vast numbers of
potentially evidentiary and other photos (many of them rather
gruesome), related to the case and who had been specifically ordered
to treat them as confidential materials, decided on his own to release
them to the media to provide what he felt was balance to his own
distorted viewpoint of the Rolling Stone photo.
In doing this, he blew it big time. His future in law enforcement is
now in question, as well it should be.
Not only has he potentially destroyed the evidentiary value of those
photos -- lawyers are already chomping at the bit on this one -- but
he has demonstrated exactly how people with personal agendas result in
damaging imagery on the Internet that can never be withdrawn.
We've seen this again and again with law enforcement and other first
responders. Gruesome photos of accident victims, innocent parties who
happened to be present at crime scenes, and all manner of other photos
taken by officers and others by virtue of their official presence at a
scene, then dumped onto the Internet (either directly or through third
parties as in today's case) where they will multiply forever, and
contribute to dangerously misguided calls for Internet censorship and
micro-management of search engine results.
It's the source of these photos in the first place that is the
problem, and while it's easy to say that Tsarnaev isn't a sympathetic
example -- and he's not -- the violation of official duties and oaths
represented by the unauthorized release of such photos in any context
is a matter of great concern, that undermines faith in police agencies
and emergency responders in general.
Perhaps this officer thought he was some sort of Edward Snowden with a
badge, out to personally right the wrong that he fantasized Rolling
Stone had committed.
But even apart from the potential damage this officer has done to an
important case against a mass murderer, by taking the release of such
materials into his own hands, he suggests to everyone that law
enforcement cannot be trusted to maintain control over sensitive
photos and other information, and the damage he's caused in that
respect may be impossible to overestimate.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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