Making Headlines: Police chief, local newspaper, clash over what's fit to print

High-profile arrestee Kevin Cox has certainly stirred the pot!

After Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis complained, the Daily Progress agreed to tweak its headline about the arrest of pedestrian activist Kevin Cox, but stands by the facts presented in the story.

Things took an interesting turn yesterday when Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis called out the Daily Progress for its headline writing on a story about the recent arrest of well-known pedestrian activist Kevin Cox — who on May 17 created a makeshift crosswalk at the intersection of Second Street SE and Elliott Avenue to protest the absence of having one there — accusing the newspaper of printing a false and "tabloid-ish" headline just to "get clicks."

"To do that, and get those clicks, there's some irresponsibility there," Kochis told WINA morning news radio host Jay James. "You know, I think that needs to be called out....when it's straight up not true."

On May 23, the Daily Progress ran a story by reporter Hawes Spencer with the headline, "Charlottesville city manager personally called police chief to arrest pedestrian advocate," which reported that City Manager Sam Sanders notified Kochis after receiving an email from Cox admitting he'd spray-chalked the crosswalk in protest.

While Kochis said that Charlottesville has “the best in the business when it comes to journalism,” and that Spencer is “really good at what he does,” he took issue with the way headlines are created.

“What I’ve learned is that while he [Spencer] will do an article, it then goes to an editor who then comes up with a headline,” said Kochis. “And I think oftentimes that headline is meant to get clicks....often very tabloid-ish. You know, things to just get attention. I understand that. I think we run into problems when it's just completely false…”

"The initial headline that came out...straight up said that the city manager called me to arrest and investigate this individual," Kochis continued. "And that's just not true."

Kochis said he reached out to Spencer, and Daily Progress editor Reynolds Hutchins, who agreed to change the headline to read: "Charlottesville city manager personally called police chief before arrest of pedestrian advocate."

However, Kochis wasn't happy with that headline either.

"The newest version of the headline is that the city manager called me prior to the arrest of this individual," said Kochis, "which is also not true."

Daily Progress editor Reynolds Hutchins says that’s the first time he can recall Kochis asking that a headline be changed.

"The headline was altered slightly after he reached out to Hawes Spencer to express concerns regarding his interpretation of the headline," says Hutchins." The body of the story, and the facts presented there, remain unchanged."

Indeed, while Kochis might have taken issue with the headline, the Daily Progress story quotes from the investigating detective’s report, which says: "After [City Manager Sam] Sanders received this [Cox's] email, he asked for a risk assessment and notified Chief Kochis of the vandalism."

Later, a warrant was issued for 72-year-old Cox’s arrest and he turned himself in on Wednesday, May 21.

Clearly, Kochis was bristling at the suggestion that Cox’s arrest was politically motivated and insisted that his activities as an activist played “absolutely a zero role” in how the case was investigated and in the decision to charge him with a crime.

“To assert that something like this is being steered by City Hall, or has political motivation....is just dangerous,” said Kochis. “It's really dangerous.”

“You know the the city manager," Kochis told James," that’s not his style...he would never do that."

Alas, if only it were that simple!

Cox’s high-profile arrest has followed a chain of events that have so far involved multiple elected and appointed city officials, beginning with the public attention surrounding the tragic death of 64-year-old Liberian immigrant, Mamawa Simai, who was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing Elliott Avenue last October. In response to that tragedy, Cox and others collected 900 signatures for a petition asking the city for a painted crosswalk at the nearby Second Street SE intersection, which the city has not yet done. Cox has continued to push for the crosswalk and appeared before City Council on May 5 to plead his case, which resulted in a confrontation with Councilor Brian Pinkston, who interrupted Cox twice and accused him of making “ad hominem attacks” against city staff.

Here are Cox’s May 5 comments and the exchange with Pinkston:

Later, city spokeswoman Afton Schneider defended Pinkston’s accusations, telling the Daily Progress that “when he [Cox] moved from his opinions about Elliott Avenue to attacking the city engineer/traffic department, that became an ad hominem attack.”

What’s more, while Cox informed Sanders [and later Deputy City Manager for Operations James Freas] in his email that his makeshift crosswalk was painted with chalk, not paint, that didn’t stop the police from investigating it as a crime. According to reporting from the Daily Progress, staff from the City’s public works department determined the makeshift crosswalk could not be washed off and had it painted over, naturally bolstering a vandalism charge. According to the Daily Progress, Cox showed them an invoice for two 15-ounce cans of Aervoe spray chalk, which is water soluble.

At this point, the reading public certainly didn’t need a tabloid-ish headline to begin questioning how city officials were responding to Cox’s form of protest. Indeed, even before Spencer’s May 23 story was published, people on social media were already questioning the arrest.

“cool, cool. arrest the one guy that has done more than almost anyone to help our kids cross the street safely without getting killed,” wrote an observer on Charlottesville Reddit.

While city officials may not have intentionally gone after Cox for his activism — Cox contends they did, according to reporting by the Daily Progress — they certainly failed to read the room.

“Instead of helping him [Cox], the city had him arrested,” wrote Charlottesville resident Susan Jones in a May 26 letter published by the Daily Progress. “I can hardly believe this reaction from our city. Mamawa Simai was killed there by a driver exceeding the 35 mph speed limit. His "punishment" is another blasphemy.”

Cox’s trial date is set for July 14 at 9:05 a.m. in Charlottesville General District Court.