In what appears to be an incredible display of sticking to its guns, the Raleigh Police Department has not released any new information about the mass shooting several days ago. During the incident, the RPD provided real-time updates while locking down the neighborhood and searching for the gunman who was still “at large”. After they caught the gunman, the Chief of Police did a press conference to provide immediate information. This was followed up the next day with a more extensive press conference and update from the Chief, the Mayor and the Governor. At that time, they identified the victims and said they would provide an update after they completed their investigation in 5 days.
They have literally not issued a single update since that presser 3 days ago. They are not responding to questions from the local media about the guns, the motive, the shooter’s identity (which was leaked by someone else since he’s a kid) or much else. With one exception – they posted some info on where to donate funds for the victim’s families.
I am fascinated by the way the RPD is handling this. I think it is a notable display of integrity, class, pose and thoughtful consideration. Twitter, Reddit and local forums are full of people who “want to know” all the details. Speculation, theories, rumors and opinions are being proclaimed online.
But there’s not been a peep from RPD other than “we’ll issue the report in 5 days after the investigation”.
In today’s world, where “news” is reported instantaneously without regard to verification, validation or confirmation, I have a lot of respect for RPD’s stance.
This, to me, is Raleigh.
I’ve seen something similar with other Raleigh government agencies that are not emergency responders.
- Website updates only happen during the work week. Often these are delayed.
- With staffing shortages and Covid issues, many closures are only noted with a taped paper sign on the front door.
- Nothing happens on weekends (unless it was pre-scheduled).
- Things are shut down over holidays. Shut. Down.
And I like it.
When I was a child, stores were closed on Sundays (and often Mondays) so the owners and employees could have 2 days off. During the week, many things shut down at 5 PM. We didn’t have endless choices and 24 hour service.
Many times, if we wanted something, we had to wait for it.
It was fine. In fact, it was better than fine.
As I say this, I’ll readily acknowledge that I love shopping online and getting almost anything I want delivered within a few days. I want my pools to be open 365 days a year – they aren’t – but I still want it.
I want what I want when I want it.
It is refreshing to sometimes not get it.