Rex Smith: Sometimes it hurts to read the truth


As I pulled into the parking lot at work Wednesday morning, a radio newscast was reporting that an unnamed Albany cop had died in an overnight crash. So when I got to the newsroom, I went to the office of Deputy Managing Editor Mike Spain, who oversees our local news operation. “Kenny Wilcox was killed on I-90 last night,” he said. It was staggering news.

The death of any police officer on duty is a big story, but K-Will wasn’t just any police officer. We had profiled him in the paper. He had won awards for heroism and was an icon in the minority community, probably the best-known cop in Albany.

But coincidence had given our newsroom particular insight into this tragic death. Senior Writer Steve Barnes had seen Wilcox in Albany’s trendiest bar, Noche, a few hours before the detective’s accident. Soon Brendan Lyons, who handles plenty of high-impact stories on his criminal justice beat, had spoken to other people who were there, as well as law-enforcement sources. We began to stitch together a detail-laden account of the last night of this man’s life.

Most readers probably know the visible part of the story from there. We led the paper with the news of Wilcox’s death, in a story that reported his hours with a business associate at Noche, which witnesses said started before 5 p.m. and ended at 11, two hours before his shift on duty was to start.

The story said that there was “no indication that Wilcox was legally impaired or intoxicated” when he died, but it detailed his hours at the bar, where, according to witnesses, he and Aaron Dare had paid $900 for a bottle of cognac.

There was more to the story, including reminders of Wilcox’s career as a cop — how he saved the life of a baby in a house fire 13 years ago, how this rare black detective became a role model in the city’s minority community. But what most people saw in the story was what went on in Noche.

And that was what police union officers and Wilcox’s family focused on after a preliminary analysis released Thursday afternoon revealed that Wilcox wasn’t legally drunk at the time of his death, about 3 1/2 hours after he left Noche. A union president told Lyons that if he attended the joint press conference called by the family and the union, it would be “at your own risk.”

It wasn’t the only threat we heard.

Covering the news doesn’t usually place a newspaper in the position of being part of the story, nor make its reporters look over their shoulder. But we can’t curtail our coverage in an effort to be more popular. In deciding how to shape our coverage over the past few days, we have weighed a number of ethical considerations, always guided by the imperatives of ethical journalism: Seek the truth and report it fully; act independently; minimize harm; and be accountable.

For example: We debated Wednesday night whether Barnes should write a first-person account of what he saw at the lounge, where he had arrived an hour before Wilcox and Dare left and where there had been a lot of talk about the well-known pair flashing hundred-dollar bills at the end of the bar.

Barnes had details beyond what we published. But there was an ethical concern: Although Barnes had been talking with friends at Noche who knew he was a reporter, what he was doing in the bar was relaxing, not reporting. The people talking with him surely didn’t expect what they said to wind up in print.

As we weighed our coverage in the hours before the press started rolling, I looked up a relevant passage in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics: “Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. … Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.”

We concluded that the bar patrons chatting with Barnes deserved the privacy of their conversations with him. They didn’t suspect that what they were witnessing in the bar would become newsworthy.

But, you may rightly ask, what of Ken Wilcox’s privacy? Why did we feel a need to publish anything about his hours in the bar before his death?

People who enter public service — politicians, police, firefighters, soldiers — perform tasks that we cover, and part of our role is to be a watchdog over whether they’re doing those jobs well. But private actions that might affect their public performance are newsworthy, too. When a detective dies in a one-car crash, his behavior leading up to the crash is the public’s business.

Whether Wilcox was impaired by alcohol when he went on duty at 1 a.m. isn’t clear, but that’s relevant news, as well, and we will report on that if investigators reach a conclusion. That relates to the broader issue raised by Police Chief James Tuffey: whether the department ought to change a policy about alcohol consumption off-duty that is more lax for cops than standards that typically apply to nurses, truckers, pilots and other jobs dealing with public safety and health.

Our coverage of the Albany Police Department hasn’t always made us popular with the officers. Most of the stories we publish about police involve cops doing their jobs with skill and professionalism. But in fulfilling our truth-telling role, we also have revealed news that casts some officers in an unfavorable light.

Our goal is never to distort the news toward a particular end, but we can’t ignore stories in an effort to curry favor with anyone, even a group as influential and important in our society as police.

We have made two mistakes that I’m aware of in our coverage of the Wilcox story: Our first story didn’t mention that Wilcox and Dare each had left Noche briefly during the evening; witnesses believe Wilcox was gone for about a half-hour to give his daughter some cash for a school field trip. We reported that Friday, but inadvertently omitted it from the Thursday story.

Second, our story Friday stated that the Times Union had not been notified of a police union press conference. In fact, a fax had been sent to our Sports Department, where it sat unnoticed during the day. There was ultimately no harm in the missed fax — Lyons found out about the event and covered it, anyway, threat notwithstanding — but it prompted Council 82, the union that represents most Albany cops, to issue a release accusing Lyons and me of “attempting to mislead the community by misreporting important facts” on this story.

Actually, it’s simpler than that. On this sad story, as with every report we file, our goal is just to present the truth to our readers. That truth isn’t always pleasant, nor is the task of presenting it.

Rex Smith is editor of the Times Union.

related stories:

  • A life of achievement, one page at a time (Sunday, April 30)
  • Fuller picture of cop’s crash emerges (Friday, April 28)
  • Off-duty drinks preceded death (Thursday, April 27)
  • Rex Smith

    10 Responses

    1. bradscott says:

      I am appalled by the Chief’s response. What is an appropriate blood level for someone empowered to go through red lights, speed, and use deadly force? 16 year old drivers have 0 tolerance I would hope the police and fire have the same as they speed by me at 90 MPH on the Northway or see a kid with a water gun and have to make a snap decision whether this represents a response that warrants deadly force. It was quite a few hours after going on duty that this blood alcohol was taken so unless the officer was drinking on duty we can assume that the blood alcohol at the start of his tour was .04- .06 higher !! “Although the average metabolism rate for moderate drinkers produces a .017 per hour decline in BAC level (here termed “Average”), and the average metabolism rate for heavy drinkers (who consume 60 drinks or more in one month) produces a .02 per hour decline(”

      This officer could have been legally drunk when his tour started. He is just another victim of the problem we have with alcohol and driving. The truly angering thing to me is the Police response that this is somehow OK. So Chief Duffy How drunk can a Police officer be before we stop him mediating our disputes, enforcing the law, carrying a gun, and tearing along the streets and road where I and my family reside???

    2. w2vs54 says:

      And sometimes it hurts newspaper sales to print the truth…
      Mr. Smith attempts to exonerate his newspaper’s coverage of the tragic death of a brave police officer by cleverly asserting that the sum of the somewhat innocent parts of the Times Union’s coverage equals an innocent whole. The fact is that the newspaper published a front page headline article which sensationalized the final hours of Detective Wilcox’ life. Mr Smith ffeely admits that readers keyed on the many words about the “$900 bottle of cognac” and the hours spent at the bar-not the one sentence stating that there was no evidence that the detective was intoxicated. Of course, Mr Smith, like all smart, business savvy editors knows that the headline on this story was only meant to do one thing-sell newspapers. The Time-Union’s coverage of this story was disgraceful.

    3. pondersam says:

      It is absurd the the police become so angry about this information being made public. Chickens coming home to roost if you ask me. Aren’t they always the ones who publicly humiliate and ridicule citizens who get apprehended for DUI, especially if that unlucky citizen happens to be a teacher, politician, or other public figure? Where is their concern for privacy when we have our worst moments, or when our behavior comes under scrutiny? Aren’t they the ones who have the big signs everywhere saying “Don’t Blow It”? Well, they “blew it” bigtime on this one! They are the ones who have created the culture of public ridicule, and they deserve the same treatment as everyone else.

    4. dondina2 says:

      Prior to Det Wilcox’s death I didn’t know of him…from all accounts he was a champion amongst men and law officers alike…Albany was fortunate to have him….unfortunately, powerful men at times tend to think they are above the law…this true “champion” amongst men, made the poor choice of drinking, getting into a car and speeding on a major highway unseatbelted…this poor choice cost him his life and the altered the lives of his family, friends, and the people he swore to serve and protect…I pray that his family and friends find comfort in all the great things he did in his short life…Im grateful no one else was injured or killed that night…lets let the police dept make thier investigation, in an honest manner and make the appropriate changes if needed…as for the Times Union, you have an obligation to report the truth without threats…and yes, the truth can hurt.

    5. vkg98 says:

      Once again the cops are caught in an embarassing situation with Officer Wilcox speeding, not wearing his seatbelt and had alcohol in his system and we hear the lame excuse from Chief Duffy that Officer Wilcox wasn’t legally drunk when he crashed his car. Or we hear similar excuses when cops are caught violating the law such as “It was a first time offense” or “They will be treated as any other average citizen”.

      Cops are NOT average citizens. They have a badge, gun and the power of arrest. They should be held to standards much higher than the average citizen. These are the people that enforce the law. Shouldn’t they set the example?

      Think about it the next time you are on the Thruway or the Northway when you see a state trooper fly past you in the hammer lane going about 80 or 90mph. Is he wearing his seat belt? Is he talking on his cell phone WITHOUT a hands free device? Has he been drinking as well?

    6. mbond says:

      Dissemble away, but the initial story was a disgrace. But no sense trying to out-parse Rex Smith, since he’s already issued the final word on the objective “truth.”

      Interesting to note that the source of the first-hand information in the story was T-U reporter Steve Barnes, a “regular” in the establishment where Wilcox spent some of his final hours. Barnes also evidently spent several hours in the same “club” (which some of us would just call a bar), but his relative level of intoxication is never mentioned. How much was he drinking, if he was drinking at all? Was he a reliable witness? Relevant questions, given the import and consequences of what he had to say.

    7. rustyolcop says:

      After reading all of the editorials and responses in the TU Blog’s concerning the tragic and untimely death of Albany Detective Kenneth Wilcox, it is refreshing for once to see the Albany NAACP coming out in defense of a Police Officer, albeit a deceased one.

      Isn’t it a shame, that it has to be one of their own before they understand, how much scrutiny the life of police officer is under whether it be his private or his public life. The microscope that the media and the public put you under and the higher standards to which they hold a police officer.

      Now that the media has attacked one of their brethren, the black community should reflect in the future the pain and anguish every police officer suffers from the exposure by the media and how it affects them and their families. Hopefully in the future, minorities won’t be so quick to pre-judge and convict an officer in the media now that one of their own has been attacked.

      Leave the Accident investigation up to Albany PD and the NY State Police and the Accident Investigation Team. All of the facts will come out when they are known at the end of their investigation. That’s why they call it an investigation. Let Chief Tuffy and Internal Affairs complete their investigation and determine what actually occurred and what departmental policies might have to be revised as result of the investigation. The whole matter is a work in progress

      As for the comments of Detective Wilcox not wearing a seatbelt that is a matter of departmental policy not NYS Traffic Law. Police Officers in NY are not required to wear seatbelts in patrol vehicles. Secondly, as for cell-phones, police officers are allowed to use cell phones while driving in the performance of their duties without a hands free device. Read the NYS Traffic Laws.

      Let us also not forget as stated in the last post that Mr. Barnes was also a visitor at Noche, but we will never know how much his observations were impaired or inflated by consumption of alcoholic beverage, will we ??? Shouldn’t Mr. Smith establish minimum standards for his
      reporters as to their competence and accuracy of stories while reporting under the influence of alcoholic beverages. But if we ever did that, half of the reporters in the city would be out of the reporting business wouldn’t they. Ooops, I just made an assumption without proof didn’t I.
      How does it feel TU.

      In closing, let us all remember that the City of Albany has lost one of its FINEST POLICE OFFICER’s regardless of the fact that he may have made one FATAL ERROR.

      St. Michael Protector of Police Officers take this Brother into your Arms and guide him through his final journey, where he will feel no more pain whether it be physically or from words.

    8. BOCR08 says:

      This was a tragedy, especially for Det Wilcox daughter.
      Whats most distressing to me is that those in charge have let this kind of behavior go unchecked. Any supervisor that even had a hint that the detective had been drinking prior to getting in his car and driving should be held responsible for the detectives death. We all need to take responcibility for our own actions and if anyone in that dept did nothing to ensure the safety of not only officer Wilcox but the public at large then they need to be held accountable. The police dept has a long history of looking out for their own, well where the heck were you! You all need to take a good hard look at yourselves and remember why you became a policeman to begin with, there can not be double standards, you can not have a few drinks before work, go and get in a car and arrest someone else for doing the same.
      If anything perhaps these newspaper articles will bring some light to the subject and maybe even help to save another life! I bet Detective Wilcox would be proud of that!

    9. 677_DOWNTOWN says:

      This is a tragedy… But lets not forget that Det. Wilcox MUST be held to a higher standard. I do not believe it it is too much to ask, that a paid public servant, not have alchol in his system (AT ANY LEVEL)when he is carrying a loaded gun. I hate to say it but, Det. Wilcox acted recklessly, and as soon as he had a loaded gun and was on duty with alchol in his system he was no longer a hero in my eyes. A great man, a great native of Albany, a great police officer, a great dad (I am sure these statements are all 100% true)but, I will rememeber the news as a police officer, carrying a loaded gun, with alchol in his system…
      I guess hero is in the eye of the beholder…..

    10. jsonoli says:

      As respected, decorated, and loved as Det. Wilcox was, I am troubled that his death is considered “in the line of duty”, espcially when compared to the death of Lt. Finn, who indeed did die in the line of duty, chasing a suspect on foot and ending up in a gun fight with a bad guy. Forgive me for suggesting otherwise, but unless Chief Tuffy can tell us that Det. Wilcox was invovled in a chase while trying to capture a murder suspect, Det Wilcox died “while on duty”.