Webb City officials mishandled the aftermath of Rezwan Kohistani's death

 

A 14-year-old Webb City High School freshman committed suicide by hanging himself.

The R-7 School District released the following statement later that day:

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of our Webb City students. Our thoughts are with the student's family and friends during this most difficult time."

Law enforcement released information about the boy's death later that day.

If that does not sound like what happened in the death of 14-year-old Webb City High School freshman Rezwan Kohistani, that's because it isn't.

The suicide took place February 28, 2019. The statement was placed on the district's Facebook page and the news story was posted later that day on the Joplin Globe website.

There were no self-serving statements like the one that was written on the district's Facebook page 11 days after the death of Rezwan Kohistani:

The district has been asked by local media to provide information regarding the events that took place on May 5th that resulted in the death of one of our students.

Following that opening, which was designed to foster the thought that district officials were being forced to violate the privacy of the boy's family because they were being hounded by the media, not much was revealed.

The Webb City School District responded by contacting local authorities, emergency personnel, and followed the District’s Crisis Plan. 

As part of the District’s Crisis Plan, Administration met with the parents’ representative on May 5th before releasing any information to staff and students. 

Counselors have been provided for staff and students who may need additional support. This is an ongoing investigation, and the district has and will continue to fully cooperate with the local authorities throughout the process.

Except for the part about the ongoing investigation, it was exactly the same kind of information that was released the same day three years earlier following that teenager's suicide.

There was nothing about it being an "ongoing investigation" that would have prevented district officials from saying they were "deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of our Webb City students. Our thoughts are with the student's family and friends during this most difficult time."

Another difference between the 2019 death and the death of Rezwan Kohistani is that the earlier death took place at the boy's home in Carterville, so it was the Jasper County Sheriff's Office rather than the Webb City Police Department that handled the investigation.

While it took 11 days for the district to release a statement on Rezwan Kohistani's death, the Police Department waited two weeks.

That statement appeared designed to stir up a frenzy against anyone who dared violate the family's privacy by wanting to know what happened:

With utmost respect for, and approval from, the family, we decided not to publicize our investigation. We have been in constant contact with the family, giving them details of the investigation from the very beginning along with updates as they come in.

Ultimately, the family are the ones that truly need to know the information. With continued respect to the family, we spoke with them before releasing this statement.

Although there were no obvious signs of foul play at the crime scene or with the initial results from the autopsy, we decided not to publicize any information until we received the official copy of the completed autopsy.

We would not want to come to a conclusion until all of the evidence has been processed and all of the facts have been collected. This takes time.

As a standard practice, we have not made public the information from a death investigation where there were no obvious signs of foul play. We spoke with reporters from our local news syndicates, and they agreed that they would not run a story like this until all the facts were collected.

We have seen and read the posts on social media saying that the child was a victim of bullying. We have been working closely with administrators and teachers from the school district from the initial call. We have been unable to substantiate any of these allegations.

It is unfortunate that a select few have turned this family’s tragedy into an opportunity to get more social media followers or “likes.”

It is also inappropriate that many have chosen to share these posts without attempting to validate the information first.

To date, none of the people posting on social media have contacted the police department to provide information to assist us in our investigation. We encourage those posting their speculations of bullying to contact the police department so that we can follow up on their information that they have been posting.

We encourage anyone with any information about this case to contact our investigators. In the end we want to give the family, the factual truth of what happened to their child.

We appreciate those who have been patient, trusting us to conduct our investigation without fueling the speculation and hindering our process.

What a loaded statement.

Anyone who questioned how the Webb City Police Department handled the situation was doing it for social media "likes" and was going against the wishes of the family members or as the news release called them "the ones that truly need to know the information."

As for the assertion "As a standard practice, we have not made public the information from a death investigation where there were no obvious signs of foul play."

There is nothing wrong with having "standard practice," but this case was anything but a standard case.

The body was found on the Webb City High School baseball field, the deceased was an Afghan refugee and immediately stories of bullying started circulating.

That makes it a case where more than "just the family" needed to know the facts.

So instead of getting out in front of the case and making a statement that the body of a 14-year-old boy had been found, an investigation was underway, and more information would be released when it was available, the department not only released no information, but according to the statement the department went a step further.

We spoke with reporters from our local news syndicates, and they agreed that they would not run a story like this until all the facts were collected.

 What local news "syndicates" went along with that? If news outlets waited for "all the facts" to be collected, they could end up waiting weeks, months, or even years to post stories.

There is a big difference between the New York Times withholding the story about the impending Cuban invasion at President Kennedy's request (something Kennedy later said he regretted) and asking local media to delay reporting on a 14-year-old boy's death.

What difference would a brief statement that an investigation was underway have made in the way things developed?

That one step could have prevented what has been the most damning allegation- that district and law enforcement officials were attempting to sweep Rezwan Kohistani's death under the rug.

Obviously, there would still have been criticism, but it would have been tempered.

Another worrisome aspect of the department's statement is the diatribe the apparently thin-skinned writer took against his critics. He should have stopped after saying that he and his department had been unable to substantiate any reports of bullying, but he chose to attack his critics.

It is unfortunate that a select few have turned this family’s tragedy into an opportunity to get more social media followers or “likes.” 

I find it unfortunate that public officials are exploiting a family's grief in an effort to silence criticism.

Even worse, the attack on people who have claimed that bullying played a role in Rezwan Kohistani's death followed by a request that anyone with any such information bring it to the police might make a reader inclined to think any information about bullying might not be welcomed.

We can hope this doesn't increase the possibility that another family will endure the same grief Rezwan Kohistani's family is experiencing.

That is another reason the public deserved better from these officials.

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