Is this defamation and a violation of civil rights?
A false police report was filed by an alleged victim. The "victim" went back to the police and county solicitor within 24 hrs of the original statement and explained that her story was made up and that she would like all charges dismissed. The accused is a prominent business man in the area. The local paper ran a story about one week later, well after it was established that the "victim" wanted to dismiss all charges. The newspaper story sensationalized only parts of the victim's story and stressed the fact that the accused was a 7th degree black belt and was accused of assault. Nowhere in the article is it mentioned that the alleged victim signed a document requesting all charges be dismissed. A policeman who admittedly has personal issues with the accused, made statements to further sensationalize the story. The statements he made are part of the police report which he informed me was not FOI-able. The county solicitor has confirmed that a document was signed to dismiss all charges. Based on this story, this man will most likely lose his business – a martial arts studio with a client base of mostly women and children. Three full time employees will also lose their jobs, along with several part-time employees. The editor has been contacted and to this date, has refused to run an article to clarify the original. I am not questioning the Freedom of Information Act, I think that the newspaper editor has been incredibly irresponsible in his judgement to run half a story, knowing that it would probably ruin both a man's career and his good name by not presenting all of the details. I also think that it is not within the policeman's right to refer to, or make any comment on, information that is not available under the Freedom of Information Act, nor should that information have been printed, because it cannot be corroborated.
A false police report was filed by an alleged victim. The "victim" went back to the police and county solicitor within 24 hrs of the original statement and explained that her story was made up and that she would like all charges dismissed. The accused is a prominent business man in the area. The local paper ran a story about one week later, well after it was established that the "victim" wanted to dismiss all charges. The newspaper story sensationalized only parts of the victim's story and stressed the fact that the accused was a 7th degree black belt and was accused of assault. Nowhere in the article is it mentioned that the alleged victim signed a document requesting all charges be dismissed. A policeman who admittedly has personal issues with the accused, made statements to further sensationalize the story. The statements he made are part of the police report which he informed me was not FOI-able. The county solicitor has confirmed that a document was signed to dismiss all charges. Based on this story, this man will most likely lose his business – a martial arts studio with a client base of mostly women and children. Three full time employees will also lose their jobs, along with several part-time employees. The editor has been contacted and to this date, has refused to run an article to clarify the original. I am not questioning the Freedom of Information Act, I think that the newspaper editor has been incredibly irresponsible in his judgement to run half a story, knowing that it would probably ruin both a man's career and his good name by not presenting all of the details. I also think that it is not within the policeman's right to refer to, or make any comment on, information that is not available under the Freedom of Information Act, nor should that information have been printed, because it cannot be corroborated.
