[Newz] Circuit City Shopper
Well, the guy who was arrested at Circuit City after refusing to show his ID to a police officer has had the charges dropped. Bravo. That link goes to his blog, where he talks about the success he had. He also mentions an article in the Plain Dealer where a reporter basically lied about the circumstances around the charges being dropped. Being the opinionated person I am, and occasionally not content to just say 'Gee, what a fucking prick', I sent the reporter an email.
Dear Mr Sangiacomo,
I'm writing you regarding your article I read in the online 'Plain Dealer' paper about the man who was arrested after refusing to show his driver's license to a police officer in Circuit City. Our civil rights as US citizens is a particular interest to me, and I've been following this incident since it occurred.
Most of your article seems well-written with good facts. However, after reading the victim's blog (and yes, I called him a victim), I think you've made one gross error in your article. To quote:
> Righi's attorney, Ian Friedman, said Wednesday that the Brooklyn prosecutor
> dropped the charge after Friedman agreed that police did nothing wrong.
From what I've read of the incident and the events that followed, at no point was Mr Righi willing to admit that the police did nothing wrong. In fact, his entire case revolved around the fact that the police -had- done something wrong, and he was going to fight it. By saying that he made an agreement that he did not, you have caused him some grief and managed to outrage quite a few people. Reporters have their jobs because they report facts. When people read an article written by a reporter, they expect to read the truth. Placing an outright lie into an article which has already garnered quite a bit of attention can quickly result in a loss of trust in that reporter, not to mention quite a few angry messages and emails.
He states that you attempted to contact him and were referred to his attorney, yet you state you were unable to contact him. This is another falsehood, and I'm curious as to why you would report 'no contact' when you were offered a referral. Should you not have stated that Righi's only contact was to refer you to his attorney?
Frankly, I'm disappointed in the article. What started out as well-stated fact turned into a mockery of the truth. I think you owe Mr Righi and your readers an apology for the mistake you've made in the article. As I've said, reporters are expected to print the truth, and you have not done that.
Signed,
~Erika Jean Hale
Ann Arbor, Michigan
article reference: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1190278957130100.xml&coll=2
What's that all say?
'Dear Sir: You're a lying prick. People rely on you to be truthful, and you just outright lied. I think that's bullshit, and I'm saying as much. Now apologize and hope you manage to salvage your dignity and your job, asshat. Signed, me. PS: I'm telling my friends about this too.'
I don't expect I'll receive a reply. I'll be rather surprised if I do receive one, frankly. But you know what? He lied, and I'd like to tell him as much. Maybe it's the Leo in me going 'You're wrong, and I'm going to make sure you know it!!!!!!11' Maybe it's me trying to be almost polite while saying 'Are you fucking retarded?' I just didn't want to keep quiet about it. One of the most beautiful things about the internet is I can at least make my voice heard, even if not everybody listens.
Dear Mr Sangiacomo,
I'm writing you regarding your article I read in the online 'Plain Dealer' paper about the man who was arrested after refusing to show his driver's license to a police officer in Circuit City. Our civil rights as US citizens is a particular interest to me, and I've been following this incident since it occurred.
Most of your article seems well-written with good facts. However, after reading the victim's blog (and yes, I called him a victim), I think you've made one gross error in your article. To quote:
> Righi's attorney, Ian Friedman, said Wednesday that the Brooklyn prosecutor
> dropped the charge after Friedman agreed that police did nothing wrong.
From what I've read of the incident and the events that followed, at no point was Mr Righi willing to admit that the police did nothing wrong. In fact, his entire case revolved around the fact that the police -had- done something wrong, and he was going to fight it. By saying that he made an agreement that he did not, you have caused him some grief and managed to outrage quite a few people. Reporters have their jobs because they report facts. When people read an article written by a reporter, they expect to read the truth. Placing an outright lie into an article which has already garnered quite a bit of attention can quickly result in a loss of trust in that reporter, not to mention quite a few angry messages and emails.
He states that you attempted to contact him and were referred to his attorney, yet you state you were unable to contact him. This is another falsehood, and I'm curious as to why you would report 'no contact' when you were offered a referral. Should you not have stated that Righi's only contact was to refer you to his attorney?
Frankly, I'm disappointed in the article. What started out as well-stated fact turned into a mockery of the truth. I think you owe Mr Righi and your readers an apology for the mistake you've made in the article. As I've said, reporters are expected to print the truth, and you have not done that.
Signed,
~Erika Jean Hale
Ann Arbor, Michigan
article reference: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1190278957130100.xml&coll=2
What's that all say?
'Dear Sir: You're a lying prick. People rely on you to be truthful, and you just outright lied. I think that's bullshit, and I'm saying as much. Now apologize and hope you manage to salvage your dignity and your job, asshat. Signed, me. PS: I'm telling my friends about this too.'
I don't expect I'll receive a reply. I'll be rather surprised if I do receive one, frankly. But you know what? He lied, and I'd like to tell him as much. Maybe it's the Leo in me going 'You're wrong, and I'm going to make sure you know it!!!!!!11' Maybe it's me trying to be almost polite while saying 'Are you fucking retarded?' I just didn't want to keep quiet about it. One of the most beautiful things about the internet is I can at least make my voice heard, even if not everybody listens.