[Joe 6-pack]

"...but am I now to believe that these ignorant screwheads can't even handle using a consistent verb tense?"

I agree that stylistically it makes for a clumsy read; however, it's not entirely inappropriate when somebody has made a permanent report, affirmation or filing:

"I repeatedly asked my son if he broke the window, and he swears that he did not."

"The suit filed last week claims the defendant was negligent in his actions."

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Actually, it's entirely appropriate, in the case of an ongoing situation; or in the examples you used. The problem is that some reporters use the present tense almost exclusively — most often inappropriately.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"I repeatedly asked my son if he broke the window, and he swears that he did not."

I'm gonna say that this sentence is not correct. It should read:

"I repeatedly asked my son if he broke the window, and he swore that he did not."

The first example may sound correct but it is not.

I have pinged an experienced eye as an arbiter. Mainly because I'm only 98% certain of my claim.

May I ask your indulgence Mademoiselle?

[fr_freak]

I agree that stylistically it makes for a clumsy read; however, it's not entirely inappropriate when somebody has made a permanent report, affirmation or filing:

There definitely are appropriate ways to use present tense rather than past, but the key here is consistent usage of either tense. In this case, the author states that the "12-year-old's mother called Upper Burrell Township police", then the next sentence says that "The woman tells police". There is simply no excuse for that kind of behavior by someone who claims to be a writer.