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Press Release: Statement on Recent Incident Involving Chief of Police and a Member of the Press

From Anthony Sanchez for Councilmember Jesse Arreguin
Wednesday March 14, 2012 - 09:58:00 AM

Sending a police officer in the middle of the night to a reporter’s house to ask for changes to a story is flat-out inappropriate and just plain wrong. It is a serious trespass that treads dangerously close to State censorship of the Press. Chief Meehan has taken full responsibility for the incident, apologizing for his grave error and assuring the City, the Public, and the Press that it will never happen again. 

While I believe that the anger and concern in the community over the Chief’s actions are entirely warranted, I also believe this was an isolated incident and does not reflect on the Chief’s personal character. It would be unfortunate for this incident to detract from the exemplary record of our police officers and Chief Meehan, and their commitment to serve our community. 

It is a hard lesson learned for Chief Meehan, but in light of his sincere apology and self-recognition of his error, it is time to move on and move forward as a community. Acknowledging that press intimidation –intended or not- is unacceptable and anathema to Berkeley’s values, I offer my continued support of Chief Meehan to serve and protect our City.