Police Released Boston Suspects’ Photos to ‘Limit the Damage’ Being Done by Reddit, Media

[RonPaulFanInGA]

http://news.yahoo.com/wapo-police-released-boston-suspects-photos-limit-damage-125047951.html


The decision to release images of the men later identified as Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev came partly because investigators wanted to "limit the damage" being done by amateur Internet sleuths and the news media in fingering the wrong people as suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Washington Post reported that after Monday's attacks, investigators filled a Boston warehouse with hundreds of pieces of bloody clothing, shoes and other evidence from the scene on one side, and sat pouring over hours and hours of video on the other. After several days, analysts focused on the black-hatted and white-hatted suspects, known for a time as Suspect No. 1 and Suspect No. 2.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) told the Post that the reaction of Suspect No. 2 -- identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, now hospitalized after his capture Friday night - to the first explosion provided "highly incriminating" evidence and is "a lot more than the public knows."

[KramerDSP]

According to the Post, once Suspect No. 1 and No. 2 were identified, there were other considerations in the decision to release their images to the public. Investigators didn't want to risk having news outlets actually discover them first, thereby possibly creating doubt that the Tsarnaev brothers had been wrongly identified, like others before them. Additionally, they were concerned that if they didn't have control over the release of the photos, the manhunt would spiral out of control with the news media and "online vigilante detectives" competing with police to find the suspects

President Barack Obama was shown images of the brothers Thursday afternoon during a briefing. He was not asked to approve their release, but did caution officials to be certain they had the right suspects before putting their pictures out.

It's possible, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told the Post, that releasing images of the brothers might have triggered their violent rampage Thursday night. Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier was slain in a confrontation with the suspects, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed after a shootout with police.

"We may have forced their hands by releasing the videos," Davis told the newspaper. But he believes it was the right call: "I truly believe they were planning more attacks, based on the evidence we saw at Watertown. I think that by forcing their hand, we saved a much larger loss of life. . . . These individuals were bent on murder and mayhem."

Wow! When I read this, I wondered whether the police should have asked blue jacket guy and his friend to play along (especially after hearing the younger brother acted like everything was normal the next few days at the college) with the arrest. Then they could have swooped in on the brothers. If this account is true, it's possible that Reddit at al forced a chain of events unknowingly.

[angelatc]

If they had posted all the pictures and videos online, Reddit would have picked those guys out in under 24 hours.

[DGambler]

Wow! When I read this, I wondered whether the police should have asked blue jacket guy and his friend to play along (especially after hearing the younger brother acted like everything was normal the next few days at the college) with the arrest. Then they could have swooped in on the brothers. If this account is true, it's possible that Reddit at al forced a chain of events unknowingly.

Are there reports from their friends at college on how they were acting?

[KramerDSP]

Are there reports from their friends at college on how they were acting?

Yes. The younger brother supposedly gave someone a ride a home the day after the Marathon and seemed normal at a party's day or so later.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Are there reports from their friends at college on how they were acting?

Their auto mechanic says one was acting suspicious the day after the bombing:


http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/04/mechanic_suspect_was_in_rush_for_car_day_after_bom bing

Gilbert Junior, owner of the Cambridge -based Junior Auto Body, said he saw one of the accused bombers Tuesday morning and “knew something was wrong right away.”

“He was nervous, and biting his nails, and he wanted his girlfriend’s car right away even though I hadn’t fixed it yet,” he said.

[Brian4Liberty]

This is strange. If they identified them without the help of the public, why release the photos, and let them know that they were onto them? They might have been able to arrest them. Obviously they thought they could get away with it. The younger brother was going to the gym, school and parties.

[Aratus]

the classic "calm as a cucumber" behavior pattern on the outside cloaking an intense erratic "bundle of nerves" on the inside ~~~?
did someone want them to run if only to clarify things? as the public and the mass media went sherlock holmes & nancy drew ~~?
someone here is talking about what the utterances by our public officials are doing to a hypothetical local jury pool in good tyme~!

[Brian4Liberty]

did someone want them to run if only to clarify things?

Maybe, but that would be an expensive gamble. Cost a cop his life.

And what a wonderful contrast that would be. For some average Joe Citizen's, they kick in the doors in the wee hours of the morning with a no-knock military style raid (to search for a roach), but terrorists get a televised warning?

[Brian4Liberty]

The decision to release images of the men later identified as Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev came partly because investigators wanted to "limit the damage" being done by amateur Internet sleuths and the news media in fingering the wrong people as suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

This could mean that they didn't want any more speculation and pictures about the "semi-undercover" CST team members at the site. They would probably be involved in the investigation, and there's no doubt that they would be more concerned about people speculating about them, rather than some random guys on the street.

Related thread:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?412057-Likely-explanation-for-quot-Navy-SEAL-quot-guys-at-Boston-Marathon