Awash in social media, how are police learning to inform the public better after shootings?

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press

Social media has law enforcement facing increasing pressure to release information fast amid a surge of mass shootings. Police began to harness social media a decade ago, most famously after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. The four-day manhunt ended with police tweeting: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over.” It was groundbreaking at the time. Now experts says it is the the basic level expected of law enforcement. The issue is that bystanders are sometimes shooting videos of the bodies and posting them online, as happened after a recent mall shooting in Texas. When police don’t talk, that is what the public finds when they search for information.