CS Duke lax “Wanted” poster update

If you’re not familiar with the Durham CrimeStoppers’ Duke lacrosse “Wanted” poster’s production and distribution as well as a Durham attorney's request, on behalf of an unindicted lacrosse player, for an official investigation and public report by Durham Police and City regarding it as well as an official public apology for the poster which the attorney says libeled the lacrosse team, please see here, here and here.

In this post I'll respond to some reader comments on the threads of "Letter to DU Police Director" and "Talking w. Regulars/Readers - 3-15-07." I'll respond to some other comments in the next few days.

Readers’ comments (or parts thereof) are in italics with my comments following in plain print.

I see in the comments here …that at least one [CS] board member is allegedly taking the position that it is not Addison's fault if a third party made them available to others.

I'm lost trying to figure out what that board member is thinking Addison's words were distributed for in the first place.

Addison's notification to others of a crime were not distributed to be kept a secret among some Crimestopper's elite.

You’re right. The CS distribution list which CS coordinator DPL Cpl. David Addison used included DPD substations, many media outlets including newspapers and tv stations, etc.

Was [DUPD director] Robert Dean the Director at the time of the big party last year?

Dear served on the DUPD force before retiring with the rank of Major. Shortly thereafter, Dean was called back to serve as interim director while Duke searched for a permanent director.

On Feb. 9, 2006, a month and five days before Crystal Mangum made her March 14 false witness, Duke announced Dean’s selection as its new police director.

Thanks for informing the trustees by sending a copy to[board of trustee chairman Robert] Steele. I often wonder what understanding [the trustees] have of the events on campus this past year.

I wonder about that, too. Except for a few statements by Steel supportive of Brodhead and the “throw them under the bus” strategy, I can’t recall any other trustee statements.

When the racists shouted death threats at Reade Seligmann on May 18 not a single Duke trustee spoke out to condemn the racists or say any words of support to Seligmann and his family.

(Folks, The following is a comment I answer inter-paragraph. So from here until you see a star line (******), I'm responding to just one comment. - JinC )

I have spoken with a member of the Durham Crimestoppers board.

It was his position that he had seen copies of Cpl. Addison's elistserve postings, and the subsequent revisions (which, in his words, were so subtle as to be practically insignificant) but that he had never seen a "poster" or "flyer".

The poster’s were out there. In a number of posts I’ve described one I have that’s on DPD letterhead. I can’t reproduce it because of my tech limits but the board member should be able to get a copy.

He also said that he did not believe that Cpl. Addison had been responsible for the distribution of any "posters". And that if some third party had copied Addison's initial words, and printed and distributed these words in a poster or flyer, then it was inappropriate to hold Cpl. Addison responsible.

Will a judge or jury will buy that?

I cover the "CS didn't produce the 'Wanted' poster" claim in this post: "Not my poster."

Keep checking in here. In a few days, I may have more on Addison’s CS “Wanted” poster work.

It was the position of this board member that Addison had "made a mistake", but then had quickly corrected the mistake, so "no harm - no foul".

What “mistake” did this CS board member say Addison made?

As for “quickly” correcting “the mistake” ---

Addison distributed the text of the CS “Wanted” poster on March 28. It wasn’t until the morning of April 10 that DPD Maj. Lee Russ began directing Addison to make changes in the “Wanted” poster text.

“Quickly” is a relative term. But we can all agree on this: from March 28 to April 10 is a total of 14 days or, put another way, two weeks.

That’s “quickly?”

I wonder what a fair judge or jury would call it.

Something else: April 10 is the day the defense attorneys were notified the first round of DNA testing by the state lab came back negative. They scheduled a news conference for later that day to announce the results.

Meanwhile, Nifong, Gottlieb and Himan were riding down the interstate to Burlington to meet with that most accommodating of DNA experts, Brian Meehan.

It was also the position of this Durham Crimestoppers board member that they did not give unqualified authority to anyone, including Cpl. Addison, to speak in their name.

I can’t speak to what Durham CrimeStoppers did or did not authorize Addison to do. I’m just reporting what I’m told and asking reasonable follow-up questions.

But any Durham CS board member must surely know CS needs to speak publicly, promptly and unequivocally to the question of whether Addison had CS authorization to produce and distribute the text of the CS “Wanted” poster.

When I pointed out the statement attributed to Major Russ of the Durham PD, and asked whether Durham CrimeStoppers might believe it was appropriate to put out a clarifying statement, the board member said that he saw no reason for CrimeStoppers to explain itself or to clarify anything.

I hope there was a misunderstanding regarding what the board member said. Are we really going to see Durham CS with Dean chairing the CS board and dean of students Wasiolek serving on th board announce there's "no reason for CrimeStoppers to explain itself or to clarify anything?'

Wouldn't that be too much for people who care about justice, student safety and Duke to stomach?

*********************************************

CrimeStoppers is a great organization.

Great organizations welcome sunshine. Even when bringing things to light is uncomfortable, the outcome can be a better-defined sense of mission, and a clearer idea of the procedures that will bring the goals closer.

The challenge for the CS Board members is to keep in mind that they run a great organization, and what that implies about what they should now do.

Well said.

It’s hard to believe Durham CS would be anything but open and honest about the “Wanted” poster, especially with Duke’s Police Director heading its board and Duke’s Dean of Students, Sue Wasiolek, serving on the board.

I’ll very soon respond to other CS “Wanted” poster questions/comments.

And I’m not forgetting the “Vigilante” poster which a check today of my archives reveals I’ve posted on 47 times.

But right Ithink I should keep my focus on the “Wanted” poster and Duke’s extensive involvement with Cpl. Addison and CS as well as its failure to condemn the libel and endangerment Addison pumped out to the Duke campus and the Durham community in CS’s name.

Let's all hope before I again post on the "Vigilante" poster, President Brodhead will have finally condemned the hate-mongers who spread the "Wanted" and "Vigilante" posters about Duke campus the night of March 29, literally under his office window.