The Lee County Sheriff is mad at Waterman Broadcasting again after its ABC and NBC stations looked into a local homicide at the same time the Sheriff’s Office was investigating the case.
>UPDATE: Scott also seems to be mad about the station’s reporting about an Amber Alert that wasn’t issued for a missing local girl named Diana Alvares.
Saying WBBH–WZVN “whined for months” when the Sheriff’s office didn’t give updates on the investigation into the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers, Sheriff Mike Scott wrote on Facebook, “We limit comment during these investigations where we have only one chance to get it right, regardless of the media’s sense of entitlement to unfettered access.”
Scott questioned the media’s right to investigate cases after he said the stations almost let a suspect get away “as he was tipped off by a Waterman reporter knocking on doors in Missouri and trying to interview people there in the middle of our undercover surveillance.”
“Waterman is now grousing over another, high-profile case, and my refusal to entertain their incessant and self-serving curiosity,” wrote Scott. “I thought by now my resolve to work these cases without regard for media deadlines and demands for information was better understood.”
“The United States Attorney overseeing this case has asked that we not speak about it,” wrote Scott. “I will not be bullied by media, and they will not determine how/when we share the details of such sensitive and intricate cases involving my constituents, which I have sworn to protect and serve.”
In April, the Sheriff said the station nearly compromised what he called a “major heroin” bust after they did a story about the department using surveillance cameras that were disguised on telephone poles in its investigation.
We reached out to WBBH-WZVN for comment and will update when we hear back.