Here’s why the L-E published the name and photo of Officer Vardman

Warning: Today’s column is not about a cross-county trip I took with my family or the joys of teaching a teenager how to drive. It’s about why we did something at the newspaper this week that some people didn’t like, and a little bit about how we do what we do.

This week the Ledger-Enquirer published online and in print the name and photograph of Columbus Police Officer Ryan Vardman, the officer who on May 18 fatally struck 22-year-old Deonte Giles with a police car after Giles, according to police, pointed a weapon at another officer.

Our decision to publish the name and photo made some people angry. Here’s just one example: “Liberal enquirer, why are you posting this picture? This officer is NOT guilty of breaking any laws and is not being charged with anything.”

Others encouraged us to #backtheblue, which for them meant taking down Officer Vardman’s photo.

So here’s what happened. In most cases, we get the photos, names and information we use in our stories in one of three ways:

• Somebody, often with an official agency, gives us the information.

• We ask for the information or go looking for it in documents.

• If we’re denied the information and we believe the public has a right to know, we request it under the Freedom of Information Act.

Just because we get information doesn’t mean we automatically publish it. When it involves law enforcement, we consider whether releasing information might impede an investigation or endanger the lives of our men and women in blue, as well as the lives of civilians involved.

When deciding whether to run this information, we frequently reach out to the law enforcement chain of command for feedback. Also, law enforcement sometimes reaches out to us to request that we remove information or photos from our website.

Here’s how we got Officer Vardman’s name and photo: The Columbus Police Department sent it to us and other news agencies in town. This was not a rogue act by the newspaper or TV stations to besmirch the name of an officer.

I trust that the police department released the information because its leaders felt the public had a right to know, and that they would not release information that would hinder their investigation or endanger their officers.

That’s why we ran the name and photo. It’s as simple as that.

Later, we posted a video from a case in 2015 involving Officer Vardman.

Many on Facebook didn’t like it. “SHAME ON YOU!!” responded a retired sheriff’s deputy. “Trying to dredge up a bunch of dirt, then drag a HERO through the mud and scandalous innuendos.”

On the contrary, that video, which was provided to us by the GBI, clearly showed Vardman and the other officers responding courageously and correctly to a violent and chaotic situation, and it helped diffuse a potentially volatile reaction from the public.

Amid Monday’s Facebook storm, one local TV station removed Vardman’s name and photo “out of respect to our law enforcement officers” and because “no charges have been filed.”

The Ledger-Enquirer did not remove the photo and saw nothing to correct. We had not said Vardman had done anything wrong, and we clearly stated that he had not been charged and that it is standard procedure for an officer in his case to take leave with pay during the investigation.

Oh, and the police department wanted us to publish the information because they gave it to us.

Here’s the thing: We back the blue. We also believe that black lives matter. Notice that I didn’t capitalize these things. We’re not associated with a political faction, and we’re not trying to pick a side and then spin the facts so we can win.

We want to dig for the truth, regardless of whether one side might claim a victory from it.

We have no agenda here. The newspaper exists to bring facts to the light of day. In most cases, this reveals law enforcement officers to be the heroes we already know most of them to be. Occasionally, it points out flaws in the system or in certain human beings, and allows our community to heal and grow stronger.

This story was originally published May 26, 2017 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Here’s why the L-E published the name and photo of Officer Vardman."