Local police departments have long known the value of releasing surveillance video to the public.
It works.
Time and time again, police show off videos of robberies and other crimes — even fuzzy ones — and tipsters call in with information about the suspect.
The FBI even has a web page dedicated to videos of bank robberies. The videos are usually posted the same day or the day after the robberies.
So what took the Texas Department of Public Safety so long to release the surveillance video of the arsonist who set fire and did massive damage to the Texas Governor’s mansion? The blaze was June 8th. They finally got around to releasing the video on July 29th. Seven weeks later!
Click here for a link to the video.
The DPS has been under fire for poor training and staffing at the Capitol, and the head guy at DPS recently resigned. So maybe the long delay should be no surprise.
But in my mind, there’s no excuse for not releasing this video within the first few days of the fire. Granted it’s not crystal clear and you can’t see his face, but someone who knows the arsonist might have recognized his clothing or stature.
I’ve seen videos solve local crimes over and over. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons police withold evidence, including videos. But I don’t understand why they couldn’t and shouldn’t have released this video weeks ago.
Gordon Gabs 