The Pima County Sheriff's Department has suddenly turned off the flow of information in the January 8th mass shootings in Tucson. Shortly after noon Tuesday Sheriff's PIO Jason Ogan released this terse, one-line statement:
"Until further notice, due to a controversy between the Sheriff's Department and the County Attorney's office, no further information reference the January 8, 2011 shooting will be released."…
As KGUN9 News has reported, some critics have suggested that some statements from the Sheriff's Department -- particularly those from Sheriff Clarence Dupnik -- could serve to work against prosecutors. A legal expert that 9 On Your Side consulted did not share the concern. Whether LaWall has views on the subject, and if so, whether those views played into Wednesday's Sheriff's Department statement, is unknown.
Sheriff Dupnik has been taking full advantage of his 15 minutes of fame over the past week and a half and accusing everyone for the shooting including: Sarah Palin, the right, TEA Party, etc. Many in the conservative media have criticized him for this because the Loughner’s defense attorney’s could turn around and use what he said against the prosecution in his case.
He is the sheriff that is supposed to be investigating what really happened and why. He had no business guessing what Loughner’s motive was in the media before any evidence had been found, in the first place. This gag order on him is long overdue. He should have spent the time that he used pontificating investigating the shooting. That IS what he was elected to do. There will be hell to pay for Dupnik, if his politicization of the shooting costs the prosecution the case.
H/T to Ed Morrissey
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