[yldstrk]

why the idiot police department wasn’t immediately forthcoming with the facts confounds reason

[Sarah Barracuda]

I agree, I think if the video had been released the very next day the media would have seen what utter fools they were to even report on this..the media went from making Brown their little folk hero to now realizing this is another dud

[JennysCool]

Investigations take time. You just can't instantly release stuff like that. The real question is why can't everybody (especially the media) wait until the facts are established to decide if they want to get hysterical or not.

[KarlInOhio]

why the idiot police department wasn’t immediately forthcoming with the facts confounds reason

Maybe getting all their ducks in a row before any announcement. Being 99% right is equal to being 100% wrong if the media sees you as the enemy.

[UCANSEE2]

why the idiot police department wasn’t immediately forthcoming with the facts confounds reason

Maybe because they are legally required to get all their ducks in a row before releasing information to the public. They have been a little busy, what with the riots and all.

[going hot]

When renewing ccw, the instructor hammers home the point:Never say anything to anyone, especially the police. Talk to an attorney instead. Never converse with the police.

We all know that. The question is why?

The answer is that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

I think the police themselves know that full well.

[skr]

Probably because lawyers, politicians and p.r. people are involved.

[Dixie Yooper]

why the idiot police department wasn’t immediately forthcoming with the facts confounds reason

Too busy containing protesters/rioters.

[RWB Patriot]

I’d imagine there’s a process they have to follow before they can do that. I also doubt it would’ve mattered to the folks who decided to riot over it.

[muir_redwoods]

Perhaps it took a bit to be absolutely sure they had Brown on the video. Coming out with the wrong guy would have made it twice as bad.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

why the idiot police department wasn’t immediately forthcoming with the facts confounds reason

I saw a story linked here on FR (I don't have the link handy) that described the reasons as follows:

A) the clerk reported the robbery, but the officer that pulled Brown didn't know about it, meaning there was no immediate connection between the two incidents.
B) only after the "witness" (Brown's friend) spoke to the police about the robbery several days later did the police realize that they were dealing with the same people.
C) the store initially declined to give the police the videotape of the robbery when asked a few days ago (in what now seems to be a prescient desire to avoid community backlash). The police had to threaten legal action before they turned it over.

So we may very well have seen the videotape very soon after the police got it... which, unfortunately, was well after the riots and everything had started...