Dear Revealer,

In all my years of covering the criminal justice beat, I’d never heard of a police department dissolving into thin air overnight. But that’s exactly what happened after 17-year-old Braven Glenn was killed during a high-speed car chase on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. Braven’s grieving mother went to the tribal police station days later looking for answers but found the doors locked and the windows papered over. They were gone. When a friend of Braven’s family raised the alarm two years ago, I knew this was a story I needed to go after.

Investigative reporting can be slow and tedious work. But once it’s out there and has a real impact – that’s exciting. And that’s why I’m so excited to be part of our newly merged CIR newsroom surrounded by a buzzing energy and the storytelling possibilities that come from working with so many amazingly talented colleagues. As I originally reported this story on the Crow reservation, filmmaker Mark Helenowski followed along with his video camera. And in the months since, my colleague Najib Aminy produced Braven’s story on an episode of Reveal. 

It’s one thing to read the words of Braven’s mother; it’s a completely different experience to see or hear her saying them. Images and voices can carry power and touch people in ways we might never imagine. I want my stories to elicit an emotional response – whatever the emotion – and potentially encourage people to speak out and try to change the system. 

You help tell these stories through your generosity. Thank you for being my partner in truth. 

Samantha Michaels
Senior Reporter
Mother Jones
The Center for Investigative Reporting