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I understand that persons with mental health issues have a right to privacy, etc. At what point does the public's right to know about a potentially dangerous person in their midst outweigh an individual's right to privacy? I would greatly appreciate your thoughts/advice on the below situation:
On December 23rd a local man was found brutally murdered on a Boy Scout Reservation where he was hunting. The victim appears to be well-liked/respected and doesn't seem to have anything about him that would put him in a high-risk category for this type of crime.
On December 30th the County Prosecutor's Office released a statement about a man who was reported missing December 23rd from the same town where the murder occurred. THIS IS THE SAME DAY OF THE MURDER! The statement says, "(SM) has diagnosed mental health issues, according to family members. Police said he has been known to possibly become aggressive if approached. Detectives urge anyone who sees (SM) or knows his whereabouts not to make contact with him and instead call law enforcement." Public Records show four convictions for aggravated assault and/or similar offenses (2013, 2017, 2017 & 2018).
Why did LE wait SEVEN DAYS to notify the public about this potentially dangerous person - knowing a murder occurred on the SAME DAY the man went missing? In my opinion, there has been very little publicity about this missing person and the potential danger to the public. Many local people use the Reservation to walk their dogs, run, etc. One woman is very upset that she has been going to the property over the last week looking for a missing dog and was never made aware of the potential danger.
At what point does the public's right to be aware of a potential danger outweigh the individual's right to privacy? Also, since this man has still not been located after being missing for 10 days, shouldn't LE expand the warning to a much larger area? There has not been any statement made by LE linking the missing man to the murder of the hunter, however, after reading many friends of the victim say what a kind, wonderful man he was, I believe that it is quite possible that he saw this man in the woods while he was hunting and, thinking he was lost or something, approached him to offer help.
The South Jersey area has a lot of wooded areas that are frequented by people walking dogs, hiking, riding horses and quads, hunting, etc. I have some serious concerns that by not making this alert more public and to a wider area, many people could be in danger if they were to come across him in a secluded area.
On December 23rd a local man was found brutally murdered on a Boy Scout Reservation where he was hunting. The victim appears to be well-liked/respected and doesn't seem to have anything about him that would put him in a high-risk category for this type of crime.
On December 30th the County Prosecutor's Office released a statement about a man who was reported missing December 23rd from the same town where the murder occurred. THIS IS THE SAME DAY OF THE MURDER! The statement says, "(SM) has diagnosed mental health issues, according to family members. Police said he has been known to possibly become aggressive if approached. Detectives urge anyone who sees (SM) or knows his whereabouts not to make contact with him and instead call law enforcement." Public Records show four convictions for aggravated assault and/or similar offenses (2013, 2017, 2017 & 2018).
Why did LE wait SEVEN DAYS to notify the public about this potentially dangerous person - knowing a murder occurred on the SAME DAY the man went missing? In my opinion, there has been very little publicity about this missing person and the potential danger to the public. Many local people use the Reservation to walk their dogs, run, etc. One woman is very upset that she has been going to the property over the last week looking for a missing dog and was never made aware of the potential danger.
At what point does the public's right to be aware of a potential danger outweigh the individual's right to privacy? Also, since this man has still not been located after being missing for 10 days, shouldn't LE expand the warning to a much larger area? There has not been any statement made by LE linking the missing man to the murder of the hunter, however, after reading many friends of the victim say what a kind, wonderful man he was, I believe that it is quite possible that he saw this man in the woods while he was hunting and, thinking he was lost or something, approached him to offer help.
The South Jersey area has a lot of wooded areas that are frequented by people walking dogs, hiking, riding horses and quads, hunting, etc. I have some serious concerns that by not making this alert more public and to a wider area, many people could be in danger if they were to come across him in a secluded area.
