The First 24 Hours: Media, Messaging and Liability After a Critical Incident

Critical incidents are judged twice: first by what happened, and then by how leaders explained it. In the first 24 hours after an officer-involved shooting, in-custody death, mass-casualty event or other high-liability incident, incomplete facts, intense media pressure and competing voices can turn an operational crisis into a lasting legal and reputational problem.

This practical webinar examines how municipal attorneys, law-enforcement leaders, public information officers and elected officials can coordinate before the first briefing, protect the integrity of the investigation and provide useful information without creating premature certainty. It identifies common briefing failures that raise more questions than they answer and explains why delayed, fragmented or overly confident messaging can damage public trust and complicate later litigation.

Participants will receive a first-24-hours framework for establishing a rapid media team, controlling the flow of verified facts, coordinating operational and legal review, preparing defensible holding statements, correcting misinformation and planning subsequent briefings. The emphasis is not on “winning” the news cycle. It is on communicating with discipline, accuracy and credibility while preserving evidence, protecting due process and reducing avoidable municipal exposure.

Speaker: Larry Danaher