With a consultant’s advice, California police departments used death notifications as an opportunity to dig up dirt after police shootings.

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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Saturday, May 4, 2024

Hello! In this issue:
* After police shootings, officers are supposed to tell the family right away. But these detectives had another priority: asking questions about the deceased.
* How military-grade surveillance infected a Salvadoran newsroom.


** THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
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** We Regret to Inform You
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Mourners stand near a memorial for 34-year-old Brandon Lopez on Santa Ana Boulevard during a vigil in Santa Ana, Calif., in 2021. Credit: Getty Images

After police kill someone, the department is supposed to notify the family. But consultant Bruce Praet advises officers to use that interaction as an opportunity.

Praet is a well-known name in law enforcement, especially across California. He co-founded a company called Lexipol that contracts with more than 95% of police departments in the state and offers its clients training and ready-made policies.

In one of Praet’s training webinars, posted online, he offers advice aimed squarely at protecting police departments: Instead of delivering the news of the death immediately, he suggests officers could first ask about the person who was killed ([link removed]) to get as much information as possible.

Reporter Brian Howey started looking into this advice when he was with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He found that officers have been using this tactic across California, and there was a real impact: The information families disclosed before they knew their relative was killed by police had an effect on their lawsuits later.

In this update of an episode that first aired last year, Howey interviews families that have been on the receiving end of this controversial policing tactic and tracks down Praet to interview him about the consequences of his advice.
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** A Quote to Remember
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“I felt that my first obligation was letting everybody know that the healthiest decision would be to leave, to quit El Faro. … But if you wanted to stay, you should know that silence is not an option.”

El Faro editor Carlos Dada and his staff were used to security threats. But the risks hit another level when they found out the smartphones of many staff members had been hacked by Pegasus, a military-grade surveillance tool available to governments.

Listen: The Spy Inside Your Smartphone ([link removed])



** In Case You Missed It
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🎧 After the Crash ([link removed])

This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Kate Howard and edited by Nikki Frick. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

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