Saturday, September 12, 2009

Star Smears Officer Emily Perkins

The early edition of the Sunday Star includes an item in the "Behind Closed Doors" column that implies IMPD Officer Emily Perkins is targeting black City-County Councilors for arrest. The columns says:

Call it a coincidence.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer who impounded City-County Councilman Monroe Gray's car last week is the same officer who arrested City-County Councilwoman Doris Minton-McNeil last year . . .

In June 2008, Perkins arrested Minton-McNeil on allegations that the councilwoman shoved the officer, causing an injury to her hand . . .

Minton-McNeil was later acquitted . . .

Gray and Minton-McNeil are Democrats.
I suppose the fact that both arrests occurred in the west-side beat of Officer Perkins had nothing to do with it. Or let us omit the fact that Minton-McNeil summoned police to her home with a 911 call. I'm sure Officer Perkins was lurking in the background coaxing Minton-McNeill's neighbor to call police more recently to complain about her erratic driving and belligerent conduct. I guess Officer Perkins knew in advance that Gray would run that red light in a car that hadn't been registered in three years as well. Shortly after his arrest, all of Indianapolis' TV stations covered Gray's arrest; the Star did not report on it until this item appeared.

5 comments:

Indy4U2C said...

I wish The Star would do an expose on just why Carl Brizzi has failed the people of Marion County and ignored all the evidence that Gray committed felony Ghost Employment, bribery, conflict of interest, corrupt business influence, etc that The Star put on page 1!

The expose could also show just how much teflon Gray has to do any illegal or unethical things he chooses, with total immunity from Carl Brizzi.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Jon, the Star ignored Gray's arrest when others were reporting about it. The newspaper has a lengthy story this weekend about the criminal problems a former Colts player has had who most people don't even remmember. When they do report on it, it is only to mention that the same police officer who arrested Minton-McNeil was the same one who arrested Gray. They note she was acquitted of the charges without mentioning the latest allegations against her by a neighbor. If they wanted to mention the coincidence in a regular news story on Gray's arrest, I would agree with you that I'm over-reacting. But when they reduce Gray's arrest to a gossip column mention that focuses places the focus on her, I just don't see it the same way.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Jon, the Star ignored Gray's arrest when others were reporting about it. The newspaper has a lengthy story this weekend about the criminal problems a former Colts player has had who most people don't even remember. When they do report on it, it is only to mention that the same police officer who arrested Minton-McNeil was the same one who arrested Gray. They note she was acquitted of the charges without mentioning the latest allegations against her by a neighbor. If they wanted to mention the coincidence in a regular news story on Gray's arrest, I would agree with you that I'm over-reacting. But when they reduce Gray's arrest to a gossip column mention that places the focus on her, I just don't see it the same way.

swan said...

Thank you for this report, and all of the reporting you do here Advance, for which you are not even financially compensated. It is devastating to comprehend the numerous ways in which the Star spins stories to protect local officials who are powerful in the Democrat and/or Republican parties, but will libel, make up lies, about those who have fallen out of favor with those parties, with the mighty. The Indianapolis Recorder also does this.

Of course, one can boycott these papers, not subscribe. I do like the Indiana Herald and Nuvo, but wouldn't we love to have another daily competitive newspaper, that would give us great investigative journalism and ethical stands.

Hoosier in the Heartland said...

The reporters at The Star are hopeless rubes.

Check out today's photo caption of a masonic group, with the kicker: "Membership in the all-male fraternity...does not require a background in stonework or brick building."

Guffaw!