06-22-2007, 07:19 AM
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#18 (permalink)
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Junkie
Location: Some place windy
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Austin Police are changing their story. Apparently, it wasn't "mob justice". Police are looking for 3-4 people. Fifteen to twenty people witnessed the murdeer (Not 500) and the murder was not related to the Juneteenth festival.
http://www.news8austin.com/content/t...sp?ArID=186578
Quote:
City clears up confusion about beating death
Updated: 6/22/2007 10:02 AM
By: Veronica Castelo
Moments after the Austin City Council officially hired Art Acevedo as the new police chief, he apologized for the Austin Police Department' role in the misinformation reported around the world about the brutal beating death of David Morales.
"We apologize to the community and we will not have that happen again," Acevedo said.
Morales was killed by 3-4 men in the parking lot of the Booker T. Washington apartments in East Austin on Tuesday night. Police say the men attacked Morales after the car he was in struck a 2-year old boy.
Police are still investigating, but city manager Toby Futrell said it didn't go down the way news outlets around the world reported.
Futrell was one of several top city and emergency management officials to address the media Thursday during a press conference at City Hall.
"I will give you an example of the national news coverage that I
heard this morning, '500 people people saw the assault,'" Futrell said.
Futrell said the number of people who witnessed the beating was 15 to 20, not 500. She also said Morales was not killed by a crowd of people like reported.
"I also heard on the national news that up to 20 people
participated in the assault. What we are trying to tell you is
that three to four people could have participated in this assault.
That's what police need help with, not 20," Futrell said.
Reports the beating was linked to the Juneteenth Festival was addressed by assistant city manager Michael McDonald.
"This happened several blocks away. It had absolutely nothing to
do with the Juneteenth festival," McDonald said.
Assistant Police Chief David Carter said the police department was partially to blame for the confusion.
"The police department has some responsibility in putting out
accurate information. We did not do that with our initial press
release," Carter said.
Originally, police said there were 2,000 to 3,000 people in the area. They were referring to the entire area near Rosewood Park that was packed with people from the festival. They were not referring to the parking lot where Morales was killed.
"What happened was that information we put out allowed
people to jump to conclusions," Carter said.
Mayor Will Wynn said he's received several e-mails from misinformed international media outlets.
"The city played a role in that. We didn't handle our initial public
statement well and it caused confusion," Wynn said.
Carter said the confusion forced the police department to evaluate and improve the way police release information to the public.
In addition to clearing up the confusion, city leaders stressed the fact the murder is still unsolved. It's the one fact police hope every media outlet everywhere keeps reporting until the men are caught.
"We're looking for three or four heinous criminals. I want to
bring them to justice," Carter said.
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