Connecticut police chief says he messed up in hiding arrest of police commissioner

Brookfield (Conn.) Police Chief Robin Montgomery acknowledged that he erred in keeping secret the arrest of a member of the Police Commission. The commissioner was arrested on a charge of second-degree harassment, but the fact of the arrest was kept secret. Last week the chief said police have "discretion" over the public release of information about arrests. Yes and no. Yes, police in Connecticut and most other states have some discretion over what particulars to release if some facts might hurt an ongoing investigation, but "no" on keeping it all secret; the basic facts of the arrest, and that an arrest took place, are public. On Wednesday Montgomery set it right, said he was in error, and released the arrest information. This is important for journalists to remember - don't let police get away with blanket "under investigation" exemptions for releasing basic information, such as the place, time, general nature of the arrest, etc. And journalists should get more information, such as narratives, if those narratives would not harm the investigation. Check your state law for specifics. The cool thing about the story about this situation in The News-Times is that they quoted the law in a breakout box so people could see for themselves.