Today's article describing what happened during the Sept. 22 standoff in Farmington was written almost entirely from records I requested from the city.

I thought I was pretty aggressive requesting them shortly after the attorney general's office ended its inquiry into the shooting. But my colleagues had the same idea, and on Thursday I was livid when I looked at the Standard-Examiner.

That newspaper had an article about the contents of the documents. It turns out the city of Farmington had given the Examiner hard copies of the written reports by mistake. I had to wait until 4 p.m. Friday to receive digital copies of those reports as well as photographs and audio recordings.

It's tough for me to complain. Almost five years ago to the day, I broke a story for the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune in much the same way. Good job, Examiner.



There may be more documents coming in the Farmington standoff. The city has withheld hundreds of pages and some photographs, citing various statutes which the city feels exempts those documents from disclosure. I have not read the city's explanation letter and determined whether I will appeal.

— NC


The top photograph shows Brian P. Wood's truck after the standoff. The powder is from pepper balls, rubber bullets or other non-lethal munitions. The lower photograph shows one of the SWAT officers from that night. He was photographed for evidence purposes. Both photos were provided by the city of Farmington.

Labels: Police