Five weeks. That’s how long it’s been since Dr. Mark Pogue and his fiancée, Dr. Lisa Dedousis, died in flames after the Mercedes driven by Karen Irby crossed into their lane on Old Canton Road Feb. 11, hitting their pickup truck head on.
To date, the Jackson Police Department and the Hinds Country district attorney’s office have refused to release any information about the crash to the media, despite repeated requests. They have not released the police or the toxicology reports, and will not even confirm or deny the results of those reports.
Spokesmen have provided many excuses for why they cannot provide the public with information, from “it would damage the case” to “it’s not our policy” to we would be “responsible for (Karen Irby’s) medical bills,” if JPD arrests her.
But The Clarion-Ledger stated in a March 4 editorial that a check of their archives “reveals a number of instances” where police have at least confirmed whether alcohol was involved in a crash. And WAPT reported March 6 that Brandon police and the Mississippi Highway Patrol released similar information in other cases.
Lack of transparency is an old, bad habit for Mississippi law enforcement and a common roadblock to media, especially when powerful or moneyed people like the Irbys are involved. Mississippi law leaves the decision to release records up to law enforcement, and they frequently abuse that privilege. When officials can’t come up with legitimate reasons to hold information, they often use delay tactics and make records inordinately expensive to obtain.
The public has been skewering local media for their attempts at reporting on the crash, and has been accusing media and JPD of a cover up. We don’t blame the public.
But Jackson public officials alone are responsible for the glare of public criticism in this case. The public’s suspicions run the gamut of “protecting the rich and famous” themes, although who the media and police are protecting differ: some say it’s the Irbys; some say it’s Sheriff Malcolm McMillin. Still others say that if the car responsible for Pogue’s and Dedousis’ death was a ghetto “hoopty” driven by someone less prominent than the wife of Stuart M. Irby, the public would know by now whether alcohol or drugs were involved, and charges would have been filed weeks ago. But it takes evidence to turn suspicions into news, and when law enforcement isn’t talking, that’s not easy to obtain.
The Jackson police and Hinds County district attorney need to put an end to the rumors and conspiracy theories. We are not asking anyone to put a case at risk or spend money the county doesn’t have. But stop treating your constituents like idiots.
