Struggling to balance need for news speed & concerns over getting the full story

UPDATE: 6:16 p.m., June 11: I ended up getting in touch with the Sheriff and posted the following story on 9NEWS.com: http://www.9news.com/news/article/340562/339/Sheriff-wants-marijuana-citation-dismissed
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So here I sit at 10:39 a.m., waiting to hear back from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

I just interviewed a man who showed me a summons (ticket) he received for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. He wonders why the deputies ticketed him post Amendment 64, the Colorado Constitutional Amendmentwhich says having a small amount of pot is legal under state law. Federal law still bans it.

The man says he was walking home from work about 1 a.m. this week when Adams County Sheriff’s Deputies drove up and told him he looked suspicious. When they asked if he had any drugs or weapons, he told them he had a box cutter from work and a small amount of marijuana, he says.

That’s when he got the ticket.

I want to post this story on 9NEWS.com. Readers care aboutmarijuana rights. There’s no reason to delay getting news out – except in cases where I don’t know the whole story.

So now I wait on AdCo.

Here’s the problem. I’ve been waiting since I first called the sheriff’s office to get some information at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

How long do I wait before I publish the story, with or with out an explanation from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office?

Remembering crime victims

It is very important that we remember the two victims who police say were killed by a prison parolee.

Tom Clements was loved by many people and we’ve worked to cover his life and keep his memory alive. Nate Leon worked part time delivering pizzas so he, his wife and three kids had some extra money.

Some viewers have asked me why we’re still talking about Evan Ebel, the man police think murdered both men. It is a legitimate question.

Ebel died after getting in a shootout Texas police.

I have worked to uncover new details in the case because it’s important that we understand, the best we can, what drove Ebel to allegedly kill.

Without asking questions and digging for new information, I wouldn’t have learned Ebel was accidently released from prison four years too early. A court error is responsible for his release.

The state is now taking a look at prisoner sentences to make sure other mistakes haven’t been made.

If there are other issues the public needs to know about, I hope to find them and let you know.

That’s why I keep reporting on Evan Ebel.

I don’t want us to forget the victims.

Here are just a few of the stories 9NEWS has done on Clements and Leon. We have wanted to help viewers better know these two respected men.

Clements' widow Lisa: Anger won't bring Tom back

http://on9news.tv/YFflpR

Dedicated husband, father remembered

http://on9news.tv/14hQ3ij

State workers raise money for Nate Leon's family

http://on9news.tv/12uNmsu

Why I thought it was important to report I found nothing

We have a goal at Channel 9 to be consistently transparent.

I think it’s important to post a story after Douglas County Sheriff’s records show the office instructed deputies to treat a report of domestic violence at the undersheriff’s house like any other call.

Law enforcement and other viewers have sent us tips questioning whether deputies took longer than usual to respond to the call. The sheriff’s office has sent out two news releases about the incident. (Read the 2nd news release here.)

The latest was to report that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the whole matter and found nothing improper occurred either between Undersheriff Tony Spurlock and his wife or in how deputies handled the call.

Some might say the story is a non-story, and I can see that argument.

But the fact that allegations of wrongdoing have been flying and the evidence I have today indicates the call was handled properly means people deserve to have their names cleared. The issue has also become a hot one, which is why the sheriff’s office has sent two news releases.

Had the documents shown the call wasn’t handled properly, you can bet I’d be doing a story. Seems fair to do critical stories and ones that show the system working properly.

Video/pictures released of Boston bombing suspects

Here's the link to still pictures: http://www.fbi.gov/news/updates-on-investigation-into-multiple-explosions-in-boston/updates-on-investigation-into-multiple-explosions-in-boston

I found it interesting that the two suspects were called "persons of interest" at the beginning of the news conference held Thursday... but the FBI also used the word "suspect."

I wonder if the average person knows or cares about the difference. To me the difference is that a "suspect" is someone thought to have had a high probability of committing a crime. A "person of interest" could be someone who law enforcement thinks (but isn't to the level of high probability) was involved in a crime.

Your thoughts?

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