Every once in a while we’ll run a story in The Daily News Journal that sets a portion of the community against us.
A recent one was our report on a local teacher who received a DUI. The story was posted online, after a perusal of weekend police reports, on Sept. 16 and appeared in print on page 3 of the main news section on Sept. 17.
The teacher in question failed a field sobriety test after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash. This is according to Murfreesboro police reports.
At no point did the DNJ say she was guilty. She received a DUI, which is what we reported. All information in the story was taken from the Murfreesboro Police Department reports and an interview with James Evans, the community relations coordinator with Rutherford County Schools.
Why did we run the story, this specific incident, over the many other DUI incidents that occur every day in the city?
- In my view, a teacher is a quasi public figure. This paper defends them constantly, but occasionally there are negative actions that need to be pointed out.
- The police report makes it clear this is more than a DUI. She is alleged to have fled the scene of an accident.
- The teacher influences children – including how they develop their judgement skills – every day. Regardless of impairment, getting behind the wheel after drinking, and fleeing an accident, are reflections on judgment.
Yes, we all make mistakes – I make ‘em, you make ‘em, we all do. And yes, if a member of my staff gets a DUI, they will have a story written about them.
One commenter mentioned that teachers are watched 24/7 and in some districts, their behavior outside of work is addressed in employee manuals. A response to that referred to this as a “teachable moment” for her.
Compassion is very much called for but we can’t just sweep the dangers of drunk driving under the rug, particularly when an example for a portion – a very young portion – of our community is involved.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that 9,878 drunk driving fatalities occurred in 2011. More than 10 percent of all injuries in crashes involve alcohol.
Let’s localize it a bit. Sergeant Kyle Evans, the public information office for the Murfreesboro Police Department, sent me this data.
In 2012 MPD worked a total of 4,978 vehicle crashes. Of that 4,978 crash total, 234 involved alcohol or drugs, of the 234 involving alcohol and drugs 103 involved injuries and 3 were fatalities.
As of 9/25/2013 we have worked a total of 3,421 total vehicle crashes. Of that 3,421 crash total, 168 involved alcohol or drugs, of the 168 involving alcohol or drugs 68 involved injuries.
Do you consider the number of crashes involving alcohol as too high or as acceptable?
Regardless of what some of the comments would indicate, our mission is not to just go out and trash people in an effort to sell papers. Our goal was not to trash the teacher. This story was not on the front page, so it doesn’t help any sales. It was one of about 30 posted to the website that day, so there was really nothing there to make it stand out.
Add to that, the teacher’s defenders commented quite freely on our website – and some of them quite harshly about the DNJ. Those comments are there now.
The goal was simple – a strong reminder to not drink and drive.
It does become a balancing game. We can cite the statistics all day long but until it involves someone you know statistics such as those mentioned earlier don’t really mean much. A person sort of
However, drinking and driving remains a big problem in our community. To drink then slide behind the wheel is a very dangerous judgment call, and when you influence our children, it is my belief that your judgment is very important.
These types of stories are not easy decisions to make, but I believe staff of The Daily News Journal made the right decision and I do stand behind it.