Prince George’s police chief does amazing thing: provides facts and apologizes for a mistake almost immediately

(Click on the image for Tom Jackman's Washington Post Report)

"Sometimes, police officers make mistakes. They’re human, it happens, though with weapons and technology and the force of law behind them, those mistakes can be deadly or transformative.
What police officers don’t typically do is admit mistakes. There are delays. There are legal ramifications. There are coverups. These are to be expected from American police departments, particularly when officers are in the wrong.
And so what Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski did Thursday night was both shocking and impressive. Less than 24 hours after his officers burst into an innocent man’s apartment in Forestville, Md., serving a search warrant on the wrong address, Stawinski held a news conference and detailed the whole thing. And apologized. Even though the innocent man shot and wounded two of the officers. Stawinski immediately suspended all search warrant service until the police can figure out what went wrong, and said no charges would be filed against the man who shot his officers, who are now recovering in the hospital."