The producers of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° have invited me to appear on tonight’s broadcast to discuss this week’s controversy surrounding my articles on the Sandy Hook tragedy. Unfortunately, I am at present unable to accommodate this request. CNN has asked for a written statement from me to present in my absence. This statement, issued to a CNN representative late this afternoon, appears in its entirety below.
Link to January 11, 2013 Anderson Cooper 360° episode.
In my analyses of news coverage on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting I am confident I have put forth questions befitting any decent and reflective citizen, journalist or scholar. My research has led me to conclude that the nation’s media failed to provide an accurate, in-depth and sustained investigation of what took place at the school on the morning of December 14. Unfortunately, most of my observations and their nuance have been reduced to headlines and sound bites that have placed my person and intent in a severely negative light.
The press is not solely at fault, however. A significant portion of the public has chosen to base its judgment of my queries on narrow preconceptions of what they believe intellectual or academic inquiry should consist of and be directed toward. Such individuals have also been quick to judge me personally based on how I have been framed by such media instead of affording my arguments related to the tragedy a less prejudicial hearing.
I maintain that many questions I raise about the Sandy Hook tragedy remain unanswered and that the American public has been underserved by the press in this important regard. I apologize for any additional anguish and grief my remarks—and how they have been taken out of context and misrepresented—may have caused the families who’ve lost loved ones on December 14. At the same time I believe the most profound memorial we can give the children and educators who lost their lives on that day is to identify and interrogate the specific causes of their tragic and untimely demise.
It is very encouraging to see someone standing up for what they believe in no matter what anyone else says. I have read your blog, and I can see that you have done a lot of research. I agree with your concern on this matter.
keep doing your thing , no one will ever listen ..but some are.
James,
Breaking new evidence – audio of police scanner of very scared officer who says “ok, got ‘em. They’re coming at me.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vSvrzq92I&feature=player_embedded
The media (e.g., CNN) spoon-feeds us the version the producers seem fit for the consumption of the unsophisticated!
A good journalist will question the events in a professional timeline as did Dr. Tracy and I commend his actions.
Tough questions needs to be asked; however, it appears (In my opinion) the CT state police are in the midst of a cover-up!
Newtown Bee article 12/27/2012 – Man in woods with a gun was an off duty tactical squad officer from another town. WTF WTF WTF ?
I want the surveillance video and all 911 calls
http://newtownbee.com/News/2012-12-27__14-58-27/Police%20Union%20Seeks%20Funding%20For%20Trauma%20Treatment
By Andrew Gorosko
As police this week continued their probe into the December 14 incident involving 28 shooting deaths, including 20 first-graders and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the lawyer who represents the Newtown Police Union is seeking help from the town, state, and federal governments to extend paychecks for “three to five” town police officers who were so traumatized by the incident that they have not yet been emotionally able to return to work.
Police union lawyer Eric Brown said this week that three to five of the town police officers who responded to the crime scene have been off work and collecting sick time pay in light of their being traumatized by the school shooting incident.
However, because the town provides only ten sick days for an officer annually, those police now face the prospect of being off work without pay, Mr Brown said.
The town police department has 45 members. Mr Brown said he expects that potentially 15 town police officers could be clinically emotionally affected by their response to the incident.
Mr Brown said that workman’s compensation is keyed to providing funds for people with physical injuries, not emotional injuries such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The town government has been receptive to the plight of the police officers who have not returned to work, but the town does not have paycheck funds designated for such situations, Mr Brown said.
PTSD is an insidious long-lasting emotional condition, Mr Brown said.
Police face serious, intense situations on a daily basis, he said. But what occurred at Sandy Hook School on December 14 was something on a magnitude that could not have been imagined, he said.
Twenty first-graders and six school staff members were killed after a 20-year-old gunman shot his way into the K–4 school on Dickenson Drive and went on a shooting rampage with a military-style assault rifle.
State police, town police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the US Marshals Service this week continued their methodical probe into why Adam Lanza of 36 Yogananda Street, Sandy Hook, committed the horrific crime.
Adam Lanza had shot and killed his mother Nancy Lanza, 52, in her sleep at their home before driving to the school and going on the gunfire rampage. After police encountered him at the school, Lanza shot himself to death, bringing the total number of the dead to 28.
State police this week declined comment on their investigation into the mass murder incident. An investigatory report on what occurred, including a possible motive for the gunman’s actions, is expected within several months.
Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said he supports the police union’s drive to have financial compensation provided for the police officers who are off work due to their emotional reaction to the shooting incident.
Since the shooting incident, police from other municipalities have aided Newtown police with local patrol work.
“They [other police] are done, but can be called in, as needed,” he said of Newtown’s ability to have other police cover local patrol work, as needed.
On Christmas, local police patrols were fully handled by police from other towns and cities, allowing town police to have the holiday off.
Chief Kehoe declined to answer questions about the police probe into the shooting incident, referring such queries to state police.
Investigation Progresses
As the police probe has progressed, some facts of the case have become clear.
According to a reliable local law enforcement source, Adam Lanza attempted to destroy all his computer equipment to prevent any tracing of his Internet usage and his electronic correspondence. It is thought that “some or most” of the computer data will be retrieved from the damaged equipment.
The source confirmed that Lanza used a Bushmaster-brand military-style semiautomatic assault rifle to kill all victims at the school. Lanza also carried two pistols.
Also, Lanza used a different rifle to kill his mother by firing four shots at her while she was in bed at home, according to the source. Adam Lanza left that rifle at Lanza residence.
Also, Lanza shot more than 100 rounds and possibly hundreds of rounds of ammunition at the school, according to the source.
Lanza was not wearing any “body armor” when the school incident occurred.
Additionally, a teacher at the school who realized what was occurring during the shooting incident crowded all of her students into a rest room adjoining her classroom and then pulled a bookcase in front of the bathroom door to obscure it from view. The people hiding in that bathroom survived.
A man with a gun who was spotted in the woods near the school on the day of the incident was an off-duty tactical squad police officer from another town, according to the source.
Misrepresented, misunderstood? You accused a father who just lost his child a liar and fraud. That’s not academic rigor, that’s not questioning authority, that’s a baseless defamation of a devastated victim. I live in CT and know people friendly with the families.
You’re a fraud and coward, hiding behind academia and the principle of critical thinking to peddle your nonsense. Start looking for work!
Help me , help me Lord, This site are dellusional whackos, Sinners Lets prey for their stupitity
Thank you for the courage to ask tough questions during a time when we are being intimidated into silence…..just like 911. There are many who do not have a platform who are aware the media is spinning lies, we are watching and are supporting you and others like you who are asking the questions media won’t go near. For those who buy into the false reality that is fed to us and who can’t handle free speech and a free press, maybe you should move to China. Google “the attack on the USS Liberty” if you don’t believe false flags happen….they do and the guys that carry them out kill children too. Wake up.
Had you ever seen a discussion denigrate into absurdity? More often than not it is due to the volume of alcohol consumed.
You have to wonder whether it’s in our nature to be asshole or we want to act like assholes. On the surface it amounts to the same thing. Underneath it all, we have a very serious problem. Many think there isn’t much worth saving. Some believe given the same playground we weren’t really that bad.
Have you seen the Crisis Actors page on Facebook. It is all about you James Tracey. It is weird. It is weird that there is nothing about acting – it is just about articles about you and Sandy Hook. It is weird that as many “conspiracy theories” as I have heard in my lifetime that you would be picked on for asking a couple questions. Your questions were too close for comfort…. before you- know one knew about Crisis Actors. Now the world knows. Excellent job. It won’t be so easy on the next event. People are paying attention.