Fort Myers police tout transparency amid tight media policies

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A desire for transparency is a major reason why police Chief Derrick Diggs spoke in favor of having the long-running TV show “Cops” film in the city.

But that transparency doesn’t extend to the media’s ability to get information out to the public.

The department doesn’t take phone calls from reporters, limiting communication to email. It can take hours to get a response from the department, which doesn’t employ a full-time public information officer the way many law enforcement agencies do.

Some emails aren’t answered at all. Active cases are rarely discussed.

WINK News asked on Wednesday to talk to Diggs about transparency, one day after a City Council meeting when he called transparency a “big key” as he spoke in support of the council’s decision to invite “Cops” to town.

The department declined that interview request and instead sent a statement from Lt. Jay Rodriguez:

“The initiatives Chief Diggs has implemented since his arrival have centered around transparency.  His main focus when discussing the filming of COPS at last night’s meeting revolved around being as transparent as possible.  Chief Diggs believes transparency is by far one of the most important fundamental elements in policing needed to maintain public trust.  Lastly, you may have also noticed that under the City Managers items at last night’s council agenda (Item 22b), there was an approval for the purchase of more body cameras for our officers.  This too is another example of Chief Diggs’ commitment to transparency.”

Media policies aside, Diggs has sought to improve transparency in other ways. He’s begun a series of community forums designed to open lines of communication between police and residents. Input from residents informs a new-gang suppression unit that Diggs credits for preventing “probably about five mass shooting incidents” over a two-month span.

But when it comes to the flow of information through mass media — whether on the news or on “Cops” — Diggs maintains a tight grip on the spigot. “Cops” producers will have to show their episodes to him before they air.

“Everything that they want to show has gotta be viewed by me first,” Diggs said. “I give approval.”

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