Authorities smeared Brendan Tevlin's name to put the public at ease: Editorial



Brendan Tevlin was an innocent, random victim of an accused killer wanted for a double murder in Seattle. The word “targeted,” used by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office after the killing, created additional heartache for the Tevlin family at a time when it was already reeling from unbearable pain. (Seth Augenstein/The Star-Ledger)

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board The Star-Ledger on August 14, 2014 at 9:00 AM, updated August 14, 2014 at 10:12 AM

On the morning after Brendan Tevlin was killed in West Orange, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office issued a news release that included these words: “The victim has been identified as a Brendan Tevlin, 19, of Livingston. The preliminary investigation indicates he was targeted.”
That suggests the killer had some private beef with Tevlin and went after him. And because so much violence in America is tied to the drug trade, a reasonable person could read between the lines and conclude that Tevlin was somehow involved in that black market.
With that assumption in mind, the public could breathe easy. This was a private argument. The danger is confined to people who associate with killers.
We now know nothing could have been further from the truth.
Police say the word “targeted” was used based on the ferocity of the crime. Tevlin was shot eight times, indicating “a hit.” The side-street location, too, may have led police to believe he was purposely followed.
But Brendan Tevlin was an innocent, random victim of an accused killer wanted for a double murder in Seattle. The word “targeted” created additional heartache for the Tevlin family at a time when it was already reeling from unbearable pain.
“The initial inaccurate statement that Brendan was ‘targeted’ resulted in undeserved and painful speculation that he played some role in this tragedy,” the family said in a statement to The Star-Ledger this week.
If prosecutors were trying to calm the public, that was wrongheaded as well. Because the truth is that the public should have been terrified. There was indeed a monster in their midst.
As Star-Ledger columnist Mark Di Ionno reported Sunday, the accused killer was on the loose for three weeks after Tevlin was shot, hiding in wooded areas of residential neighborhoods within a mile of the crime.
The bottom line is this: Authorities gave the public a false sense of security at the expense of Tevlin’s reputation by saying he was “targeted,” and that could have led to other tragic consequences. No doubt, it also caused the public to let down its guard during the search. How many people saw the accused killer in their neighborhoods but thought nothing of it?
As for the family’s pain, Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, offered this mild apology: “The use of the word targeted was never intended to be a statement about the victim or his behavior in any respect.”
Still, the family says, “The damage that was already done is both lasting and real. All that we have left of Brendan is his reputation as an intelligent, caring and loving son, brother and friend that he deservedly achieved during his lifetime. We will never cease in our efforts to honor and protect that legacy.”
Amen to that.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/...c_at_ease.html