Sheriff’s Dept. defends SWAT shooting silence

Sheriff’s Dept. defends SWAT shooting silence: "The Pima County Sheriff's Department issued a statement today trying to explain its policy regarding the delay in information about the SWAT raid in which a Tucson man was killed. Here is an unedited copy of today's statement: Officer Involved Shooting - Update May 18, 2011 'As a result of the need for information surrounding the shooting of Jose Guerena by members of the Pima Regional SWAT Team, the public has received misinformation and emotionally-charged speculation. The investigation that lead to the service of the search warrants on May 5 is a complicated one involving multiple people suspected of very serious crimes. Sometimes, law enforcement agencies must choose between the desire of the public to quickly know details, and the very real threat to innocent lives if those details are released prematurely. Sheriff Dupnik has made it a departmental policy to be open and forthcoming with information released to the news media. When the decision is made to withhold information, as it has been in this case, there is a legitimate reason for that decision. The day the search warrant was served, we reported to the media that Mr. Guerena fired at SWAT officers. This is what was understood at that time."