1 May 2017
Lieutenant Ray Shupe, Durango Police Department PIO, withholds public information
Lieutenant Ray Shupe, the Durango Police Department’s “Public Information Officer” refused to comment about an arrest that was made outside Manna Soup Kitchen on April 25, 2017.
Lieutenant Ray Shupe, Durango Police Department’s “Public Information Officer.”
Routinely, the Durango Police Department makes information regarding criminal activity in Durango difficult for independent journalists such as myself to obtain, despite their willingness to talk to reporters at the local establishment newspaper on the record.
How the stonewalling works
Shupe and other police officers withhold information from Horse Gulch Blog through the following systematic mechanisms:
- Police officers reached by telephone or in person refuse to comment, and forward my questions to Lieutenant Ray Shupe.
- When I call Lieutenant Ray Shupe, he usually refuses to return my phone calls, or if I do reach him we won’t comment about anything, and instead suggests that I submit a written open records request.
- Copies of police records are then only available with a price tag associated with them.
To reach Lieutenant Ray Shupe, the “Public Information Officer” for the Durango Police Department, call (970) 375-4771.
Durango Police Department made an arrest at Manna Soup Kitchen on April 25, 2017.
