Following an increase in outreach efforts, Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain answered questions from the public using Reddit’s “Ask Me Anything” function Friday.
The forum, which focused on DeSpain’s history of using creative language in writing incident reports, addressed personal topics like his favorite color and professional topics regarding his post as the police department’s spokesperson.
“There have been a couple of cases where I later learned the report had an unintentional negative impact on someone,” DeSpain wrote on the impact of his unconventional reports of crime in Madison. “I have really tried very hard to not let that happen again.”
DeSpain’s Reddit question and answer session follows MPD Chief Mike Koval’s appearance on “The Daily Show” last week. DeSpain said he did not mind not seeing his work featured on the show because he “is not one really looking for 15 seconds of fame.”
DeSpain began his work as the first civilian to hold the public information officer in the police department eight years ago after a long career as a journalist. He said he has learned a lot along the way, though there are things he wished the department could improve.
“In a perfect world, I would try to put neighborhood officers in many more locations,” DeSpain wrote. “It seems when citizens have direct contact, on a regular basis, with our officers – get to really know them – a good chemistry is often created with police and community.”
Despite being pleased with most of his reports, DeSpain said he hopes to someday write a report on an arrest of Leo Burt, a suspect on the Sterling Hall bombing in 1970 who is still at large.
“My house shook the night the bomb went off. My mother told me it was thunder, but there were no storms,” DeSpain noted. “If he is still alive, he would have quite the tale to tell.”
