By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Thirteen days after the police-involved shooting death of Hays resident Joseph Weber, 36, most details related to the Aug. 18 shooting still are being withheld as rumors swirl through the community about the identity of the officers involved and the threat posed by Weber during the brief encounter with police that led to his death.
Frequent requests for further information to be released to Ellis County Attorney Thomas Drees have been so far been rebuked as the investigation continues.
“When the KBI gets me the report, we’ll be able to assess it. Until then, I doubt there is going to be any type of update,” he said Monday afternoon.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigati0n office in Great Bend on Monday again said any information would be released through the office of the Ellis County Attorney and had no comment when more information would be released.
Drees was also hesitant to give any time frame on the release of additional details.
“I do know they are working diligently on it,” he said.
While the community waits for information, two aspects of the incident are generating the most controversy and speculation: Was Weber armed during the incident with police and who fired the fatal shot?
Drees warned putting out the name of the officer involved without a thorough investigation complicates his ability to work – and live – in the area.
“You go to those states where they throw up the picture and the name of the officer when there is a shooting, check back six weeks later, six months later, they don’t work for that department. Most of them end up out of law enforcement,” Drees said, adding they cannot do their jobs effectively if the information is released — even if no wrongdoing is found.
And if wrongdoing is found, he said action would be taken.
“If there is wrongdoing, we will release his name. … If he has committed a crime, we will charge him,” Drees said.
In the meantime, many in the community and online news sites have offered the name of the officer involved and claim Weber was unarmed.
Neither piece of information is based on information that has been released or based on any factual evidence.
At this time, there has been no witness to the shooting publicly identified, nor has anyone came forward who saw the shooting.
“That’s the problem. People just make stuff up instead of waiting for the real information,” Drees said.
What is known so far
While the details of the shooting remain undisclosed, some information has been released.
According to an early news release from Drees, following an Aug. 18 traffic stop in which Weber reportedly refused to follow commands, he left the scene and then was pursued by responding officers for several minutes until the situation escalated.
At approximately 2:41 p.m., one shot was fired by a Hays police officer, striking the driver, who later died from the gunshot wound, according to the release.
Nationally, the time frame of the release of information in police-related shootings is hit-and-miss.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Washington Post reported 626 police involved shooting deaths this year, with the names of the involved officers being released in more than one-third of cases.
There is no national directive on the release of information in these cases. Instead, the policies vary state to state.
Under Kansas law, investigatory information in criminal cases is not public information.
However, in other police-involved shootings in Kansas this year, detailed information about the incident was released almost immediately.
On April 14, the KBI released specific information surrounding the death of Jeff Robertson, 54, McPherson, including the altercation that led to the shooting. The names of the officers involved in that case were not released by authorities, nor was the name of the victim.
Robertson was described by family as mentally ill.
In another police-involved shooting incident in Butler County on March 11, details surrounding the incident were released the next day, although again the officers were not named. In that case, the man killed, Manford “Butch” Moore Jr., 51, was identified.
While publicly known, Weber has not been confirmed by authorities as the man killed in the incident in Hays.
Recently, national attention has been given to police involved shootings, leading to the development of a task force on 21st Century Policing.
The final report from that group released in May 2015 did not give specific guidelines on the release of information in police-involved shootings, but did give a directive.
“When serious incidents occur, including those involving alleged police misconduct, agencies should communicate with citizens and the media swiftly, openly and neutrally, respecting areas where the law requires confidentiality,” the report said.
The report also suggested local community oversight into police activities.
A call to the Kansas Attorney General’s office to clarify state guidelines on the release of information in a police-involved shooting had not been returned Tuesday afternoon.
‘All we hear is silence’
While questions remain unanswered, the group Justice for Joey, which helped organized two candlelight vigils held in Hays and Oakley, has announced a silent protest planned for 7 p.m. Thursday outside of the Hays Police Department, 105 W. 12th.
“We want to show those involved with the investigation that we are listening to them, but all we hear is silence,” the announcement said.