It's OK for newspapers to question police about brawls, Reading Eagle should know

by Steve Reinbrecht

This story about a fight and hubbub after a Reading high school let out Monday is so confusing that it shows the Reading Eagle has little capacity to cover something as important as this kind of public disturbance. What lazy reporting!

The story says two girls fought but doesn't say why the other dozen or so people were arrested or what they were charged with.

Did they fight each other? Fight police? 

Girls "were hit" by pepper spray. Who fired it, the police or people in the crowd?

Did police use or display weapons? If not, good for them!

If a woman is taken into custody, her name should be quickly available. There used to be a logbook in the City Hall sally port of everyone brought in. I support instantly making public the name of anyone detained by authorities. We don't want the Establishment to start disappearing people in this country, do we? 

I’d like to know exactly how many people were tossed in the paddy wagon, not vaguely that “12 to 15 people were transported to City Hall.” These are people, not steers.

What kind of treatment for pepper-spray victims is available at City Hall? 

And with all respect, the story seems like a cop-centric take on the "ordeal."

This all happened at 4 p.m. and this is the best the Eagle could do by press time?

And why doesn't the Eagle call the school the Citadel, and mention that it has about 2,300 eighth- and ninth-graders?

Certainly Reading residents should respect police and not challenge them when they are trying to restore order. Reading's police do a fine job and have for years full of fast changes and dwindling resources. 

But many of the people who live in the city have moved here from places where the police are part of the problem, not the solution. 

It’s sad when a TV station out-reports a newspaper. But in this case, WFMZ answered more basic questions.