Kansas City, MO – Kansas City and its police department need to combat lies spread by social media before frenzies take hold. The message is from Councilwoman Cindy Circo.
During a Council committee meeting today, Deputy Police Chief Cy Ritter said rumors have spread that traffic checkpoints have snarled flow of cars for hours, when it was really five minutes. Ritter cited a recent checkpoint looking for unlicensed drivers on Barry Road east of I-29.
Tweets were being sent about four hour delays in traffic flow. In Ritters's words, "not true." It was a matter of minutes, he said. And it was the largest number of cars stopped at one time thus far this year, some two thousand.
Circo decried instant complaints on Twitter and cell phones. As she put it, "we have a lot of on your own kind of reporting" going on these days and it's more for the thrill of things versus the fact of things."
Lieutenant Colonel Ritter said police blogs try to counteract rumor, but reality dictates there will always be controversy in police operations.