By Police1 Staff
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A tabloid newspaper is defending itself after a report of the publication’s plans to publish the names of officers and their addresses drew widespread criticism from the public, New York Daily News reported.
The San Antonio Observer held a news conference Feb. 6 after the fatal officer-involved shooting of Antronie Scott. Scott, 36, was fatally shot during an arrest after an officer believed he was holding a firearm. It was later discovered Scott was carrying a cell phone.
The publication’s Editor in Chief, Stephanie Zarriello, said at the news conference that shootings by police go unpunished because officers remain anonymous.
“Like Ku Klux Klansman with hoods, (officers) do everything they can in order to protect their identities for fear of being brought to justice,” Zarriello said.
Zarriello said she planned to look into publishing the names of officers and their addresses in the tabloid.
“Just as the names and addresses of sex offenders are publicized in order to protect the public from their wicked behavior, we feel that our community has the right to the exact same level of protection,” Zarriello said.
After national media picked up the publication’s intentions, Facebook users turned on the editor and paper.
“You should post where their kids go to school too! You know, just in case there’s a daytime attack they can make sure no one is left out,” one commenter wrote.
Zarriello addressed the media again a day later and accused them of misinterpreting her. She said she never planned to publish the officers’ names but only wanted to “make an officer think twice before shooting so fast and killing an unarmed person.”
The weekly newspaper includes a disclaimer that states: “The names and characters used in the San Antonio Observer, fiction and non-fiction, are fictitious and are parody and are not to be taken seriously.”